His Eye Is On The Sparrow
by Scooplet
Summary: Danger threatens Sarah Stetson and Matt Granger as their relationship grows. Lee and Amanda are faced with the reality that their daughter must face life's challenges on her own. Fourth installment in the Deja Vu series. Follows May I Have This Dance? Part Two.
1. Chapter 1

Written by Scooplet

Concept by Cheryl and Susan

Scarecrow and Mrs. King characters are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended. Not for commercial use. Sarah Stetson and Matt Granger are my creation, however, so please respect my right to claim ownership of them—I do not authorize permission to use them in stories not authored by me.

One by one the four men converged in the back room of the Monterrey restaurant. It was not a large establishment, but it was popular with the locals and off the usual tourist routes. Not that there were as many tourists in this part of Mexico since the drug cartels had increased their activity and started shooting more innocent bystanders. None of the four men seemed to notice the figure quietly observing them from a booth in the corner near the back room. The man lounged on the bench, one leg crooked sideways, while he nursed a beer and dawdled over his carne asada. He had been a regular at the restaurant for weeks now, but his nondescript appearance had garnered little attention from anyone. No one except the waitress who waited on his table and on the men in the back room. She adjusted her earring and glanced briefly at the booth before going into the room to bring the men their drinks.

Inside the room, the discussion was low, but heated. "You're off your game, Luis. You missed her twice. You even had Piedro there to help you at the church. We could have delivered her as a prize to Gutierrez and gained some points."

Luis Santiago grew defensive. "You and your brother think you are so smart, Marcelo. She is carrying on with the agent. Gutierrez wouldn't want a woman like her."

"Oh, she is young enough; I doubt he'd care. I've seen him with a few…" Marcelo's voice trailed off as the waitress brought their drinks. He let his eyes wander over her figure, then placed a hand on her back and let it slip down below the waistline of her skirt as she passed by. She slapped it away. He tried to grab her, but Diego stopped him and she quickly left the room.

"Leave her be, Marcelo. We're here on business."

Marcelo was flippant. "You don't know how to have fun, my brother."

"Concentrate. You give the Jimenez family a bad name." Diego flashed a look at Marcelo and continued. "This Stetson girl has clearly had some training, from the way she forced Marcus off the road. It is a good thing we brought the right weapons to take down the helicopter and hold off the agents, or we would be rotting in prison along with Marcus right now."

Luis was quick to agree with Marcelo. "We know that her parents are important agents—in fact her father is some kind of chief or something. She would bring quite a bit of money. We will need to regroup, wait for their guard to be down, and try again."

"I would be most happy to take out her boyfriend in the process." Piedro Gomez gulped down some of his beer. "We should have shot this dog Granger along with his partner while we had the chance. If it were not for the two of them, we would have the girl by now, and be done with this mess."

Diego broke in. "Perhaps we should just cut our losses. We started this fight, and it has cost us two of our men already. She may be a nice, high profile target, but she also has some very difficult connections to overcome. We take out the boyfriend, and others will pop up to protect her—with a vengeance."

"Diego, my brother." Marcelo's voice was chilling, even to Diego. "That is what makes this game so much fun. If we succeed here in making those agents look like fools, we will make a name for ourselves with Gutierrez. And eventually we may be in power ourselves someday. This will just show our strength."

"I do not trust this source of yours, Marcelo. The American agents are watching for the cartel to make trouble. We have already made our point by beating up Granger and shooting his partner. How do we know this mole of yours is not setting us up?"

"The only reason we were not successful is that we underestimated the girl. We will not do so again. My source is not leading us along." Marcelo took a long swig of his beer and looked back at the other men. His voice grew hard again. "We wait a few weeks, then make our move. We will look for another opportunity—and there will be one. This time they will not have the upper hand."

The waitress appeared with the food and served it, carefully avoiding Marcelo. When she emerged from the backroom, she glanced over at the booth.

The man was gone, his carne untouched.

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It was a cool late summer morning, and the birds were singing in the trees. Matt felt like whistling along with them, but refrained as he sauntered up the Stetsons' driveway, gym bag in hand. A thunderstorm had blown through during the night, bringing a cool breeze with it. He knew that Sarah would need to tell her parents about her scare with the cartel soon—probably this morning—before someone from the Agency leaked the story to them first. But it was still early, and he was hoping that he and Sarah could sneak in a little sparring and their run before any interruptions. He walked lightly up the stairs to Sarah's apartment above the garage. The door opened before he could knock.

"Hey there." Sarah was grinning, her mood matching Matt's. She opened the door wider for him to enter, then shut it behind him.

"Hi." Matt let his hands encircle her waist as Sarah reached up to put her arms around his neck. They looked at one another for a moment. Matt spoke first. "You seem happy this morning."

"I am. I get to be with you. All day." Sarah reached up to meet Matt as he lowered his head towards hers for a kiss. When they broke apart, Sarah searched Matt's eyes before speaking again. "Did you sleep well? I was wondering how you'd do with the jet lag—it's evening in Kazakhstan."

"I may notice it later, but I slept like a log and woke up feeling pretty good. In fact, I thought we could spar before we went running."

"Oh." Sarah seemed to deflate a bit.

"Now, now. You're the one who wanted to practice that knifehand. And you are getting pretty good at taking me out. Let's get the mat and work out near the gazebo. It's far enough away from your parents' room, we shouldn't disturb them."

Sarah ran her fingers through his hair. Almost involuntarily, Matt closed his eyes.

Matt anticipated her kiss, and pulled back before it could go too far, opening his eyes once again. "I know that trick, Ma'am. And as much as I enjoy it when you do that, we're never going to get a workout in at this rate. Perhaps I can take a rain check?"

Sarah pretended to pout. "I was just trying to use up that sparring time. I can't pull anything over on you." She paused a beat and smiled at him. "But you're right. We should get going, and I'm the one who wanted to improve my techniques."

Matt refrained from saying that he felt an urgent need to make sure Sarah could defend herself. Her story about the near miss with the cartel had rattled him. Rene's phone call from the night before, filling him in on the details, had not helped either.

He followed her out the door and down the stairs.

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Lee walked into the workout room—really Phillip and Jamie's old bedroom—which was now set up with a treadmill, an elliptical, a weight machine, and a television. He started to pick up the remote when he heard voices outside. He went to the window.

They were partially hidden from his view, but he could see that Sarah and Matt were sparring on a mat near the gazebo. He was using a cushion to deflect her knifehand strike. _Ah, so she's finally mastered it._ Lee felt a pang, remembering that she had asked him to help her. After a minute or two, Matt tossed the cushion to the chair and began feinting some moves with Sarah. _Sheesh, Granger, you're pretty hard on her._ Unexpectedly, Sarah managed to land Matt on his back. He lay there for a moment before Sarah offered her hand to help him up. He pulled her down on top of him playfully. Lee could hear Sarah's laugh as he turned away to give them some privacy.

"Spying on someone, I see." Amanda stood in the doorway, watching him.

Lee ran his hand through his hair. "Matt was sparring with Sarah. She's made some nice progress—mastered a move we had some trouble with. She even flipped him on his back just now."

"And you wish it was you out there." It wasn't a question.

"Well, sort of. It's probably better this way. It's something that they seem to enjoy doing together. I'm not as agile as I used to be—hell, I don't think I'd like to have her flip me." Lee chuckled self-consciously.

"You're agile enough." Amanda moved to Lee and put her arms around his waist.

Lee's laugh was sincere this time. "Well, in that case, I'd better get to my workout, so I can stay in shape for my lovely wife." He kissed the tip of Amanda's nose. She kissed him back on the lips and went to the treadmill, while Lee took his place on the elliptical.

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Stepping outside in the cool morning air, Lee felt refreshed. Amanda had been able to coax him into eating one of Sarah's muffins with his coffee, and now he was ready to get something done. He looked around the yard. Sarah had managed to pull the weeds while they were away, and the yard service had pruned the bushes when they mowed last week. With the garden in shape, Lee decided to wash the cars. He looked around for Sarah's car, thinking he would wash hers, too. It was not in sight. _Maybe she and Matt went out for breakfast._ As he neared the apartment stairs, he could hear their voices through the open window above him, but he could not make out what they were saying. From the distant clink of the dishes, he could tell Sarah had served them breakfast at her apartment. _So, where's her car? _He opened the side entrance of the garage and saw Sarah's Corolla parked on the other side of his BMW sedan. He grabbed the bucket and sponge and set to work on the Volvo.

Upstairs, Sarah was busy washing dishes while Matt used her bathroom to take a shower. She hoped her parents would not notice. _It just makes more sense to have him shower here, instead of having to stop at his place or make him go back and forth. This way, we can head straight out to see the horses. Hopefully Daddy won't get the wrong idea about Matt using my shower and give him a hard time._ After drying her hands, she walked into the living room to see if Matt was finished. She felt her damp hair and pulled her fingers through it. Maybe I can run the blow dryer on it before we go…

Just then, Matt stepped out of the bathroom, his bag in hand. He set it near the door and turned around to see Sarah, still barefoot in her jeans and close-fitting t-shirt, working her fingers through her hair. He felt his breath catch at the sight of her. _She has no idea how beautiful—and alluring—she looks right now._

"I'm going to run the blow dryer on my hair for a few minutes so I can braid it."

Matt nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment.

Down on the driveway, Lee was working on the Volvo, but his mind was on the puzzle of Sarah's car. _Well, she probably parked it in the garage while she drove the SUV. That's a good thing, Stetson. You know how you hate thinking of her driving around in that little tin can._ He finished rinsing the car and realized he had forgotten the squeegee in the garage. He went to the side entrance. It was too dark to see, so rather than turn on the light, Lee opened the main garage door. Seeing the object of his search in the daylight, he grabbed it and walked back out onto the driveway. He was still musing about the Corolla. _But she wouldn't take her mother's car to the Metro lot_. He turned back around to look at the car.

In the bathroom above, Sarah had felt the rumble of the garage door opener. She kept drying her hair for a moment, then stopped. Putting the dryer down, she ran to her room and slipped on her flip flops.

Matt had been waiting on the couch when she rushed from the bathroom inexplicably. Wondering at her actions as she ran from her room to the front door, he stood up and moved to stop her. "Sarah. What's wrong?"

Just then, Lee's voice could be heard loudly through the window.

"Oh, my God."

Sarah gave Matt a wild look and ran out of the apartment.

In the garage, Lee stood transfixed, staring at the side of the Corolla, the muscles in his jaw working overtime. After his initial outburst, he had said nothing. He could hear Sarah's lighter footsteps running, then Matt's heavier, more deliberate tread coming down the stairs. He turned towards the driveway, his hands on his hips.

Sarah came to a halt in the doorway, with Matt on her heels. Amanda soon appeared behind them. As Sarah stood there, Lee could see she was trembling. He saw Matt notice it, too. Matt started to reach out a hand to her shoulder, then stopped himself, as if recognizing that it might hinder, rather than help the situation. As they both stood there, watching Sarah, Lee realized that Matt knew what had happened to the car. He felt a knot growing in his stomach.

"Sarah. What happened to your car? This was no fender bender." Past experience told Lee that the damage to the car was deliberate. As much as he wanted to know the details, he dreaded hearing how it had happened to his daughter.

"I was hoping to talk with you about it before you saw it, but…" Sarah's tremulous voice faltered to a stop.

"Were you hurt? What are you afraid to tell me, Sarah?" Lee forced himself to be patient. He knew for certain that the damage to the car was somehow related to the Agency. The old fear of endangering his daughter was back_._ Thinking his posture might be threatening to Sarah, he dropped his hands to his sides and spoke gently. "You must know you can talk to me about these things. You've never been afraid to talk to me before."

"Oh, Daddy, I was scared. But not of you. I just didn't want you to worry…" Sarah felt her lower lip tremble. She looked down to hide the tears she knew were forming in her eyes. _Oh, why do I have to be such a cry baby? I feel like a teenager right now._

Matt forced himself to stand still. He wanted to go to Sarah. He could see she was miserable and the sight of her car was disturbing. But he knew that she needed her father's solace at the moment.

Lee went to his daughter and wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes as she clung to him. Finally, he pulled away and looked in her face. His voice was husky as he spoke. "Please tell me what happened, Sarah. Were you hurt?"

Amanda pulled a tissue from her pocket and offered it to Sarah.

She dabbed at her eyes before speaking. "I'm fine, physically. I think we had better go up to the apartment." Sarah looked at her father meaningfully. He understood her and glanced over at his wife. Amanda's mouth was set in a grim line. Lee knew she shared the same concern over the cause of the accident.

Lee noticed the gym bag by the door, but did not say anything as he allowed Sarah to lead him to the couch. Matt and Amanda seated themselves in the chairs nearby.

Sarah spoke quietly, so her voice would not carry through the open window. "Mom, Daddy, I don't know how much you know about the cartel arrest from last weekend…"

"I'm more interested to know how you know anything about that. The fact they were cartel was not made public." Lee sat upright on the couch and did not relax. The muscles in his jaw started working again.

Sarah looked over at Matt, then back at her father. "They followed me."

Matt finally broke in. "Well, they followed me, at first, when we were together."

Amanda watched as Lee turned to Matt. "Francine told me that you lost them."

"I did. Once near the Agency, once on the way to the cabin, then again on the way to dinner one night. At some point they must have seen Sarah with me. Although I was never quite able to identify the drivers, they appeared to be part of the group from that…" Matt glanced at Sarah, then back at Lee. "…operation."

Lee looking sharply at Matt. He cleared his throat. "You went to the cabin?"

Matt was suddenly uncomfortable, and Amanda started to speak. "Lee, not…"

Sarah interrupted her. "Daddy, we just had a picnic lunch out on the rock. I forgot the key. Don't get the wrong idea." Then, as if remembering something, Sarah looked over at Matt. "I thought you told me you always keep a half diamond and other tools on you. Why didn't you pick the lock? We had to drive ten minutes to get to a restroom."

Matt looked sheepish, but defended himself. "Put yourself in my shoes. Would you break into your bosses' cabin? Especially if you were alone with their daughter?"

Lee and Amanda exchanged amused glances, but remained silent.

Sarah was mollified. "Yeah, I get that." She offered a silent apology to Matt, then ducked her head.

Lee sat back in the couch. "So what does all this have to do with your car? You were with Matt and he lost them."

Sarah told the story as she had related it to Francine and Gil Barclay at the Agency briefings. She started with her initial scare at the Metro station, when one of the men had almost followed her onto a train. Then she gave the details of running away from the watchful eye of the agents to the church, where Cheryl helped her escape from two of the cartel. The resulting car chase, where the two men were joined by other vehicles, ended with one driver in custody after Sarah forced him off the road. The others escaped after getting to the airport. Matt noticed that Sarah did not mention the Agency helicopter that was shot down—Rene had given him that detail when they had talked briefly the night before.

At first Lee and Amanda sat quietly in their seats, but by the end, they were leaning forward, doing their best to stay silent until she had finished. Lee had placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder—she was calm, but clearly it was difficult for her to talk about the incident.

Watching Sarah tell the story, Matt grew concerned about her. The brightness he had seen on her face earlier that morning had long since vanished. _All this stress must be getting to her. _He watched Sarah carefully._ She seems a bit thinner than she was before her parents and I went to Kazakhstan…_

Amanda was the first to speak. "Oh Sarah. Thank God you're all right. Thank God Cheryl was there, and Jamie could come to help you. I'm so sorry we weren't there." Amanda got up and went to Sarah, squeezing onto the couch next to her so they could embrace. Lee put his arms around both women.

Matt looked down at the carpet for a moment. When he looked back up, they had broken apart.

There were tears in Lee's eyes. He wiped them away and caressed Sarah's hair thoughtfully. "Gil wanted to debrief you?"

"Yes. He, Francine, and Phillip all made a big deal out of my driving. Jamie was kind of mad at Phillip. Apparently he was showing the video to people and bragging."

Everyone chuckled at that. Finally, the tension in the room eased.

Matt looked at Lee. "I heard from Rene on the aftermath…"

"Yes, I'd like to hear—and I'd also like an explanation of why, even though we were on an op together, you never told me that you had your partner shadowing my daughter."

"I was in the dark about the whole thing at the Metro stop and the car chase. Rene never told me. I was just being careful. It was unofficial, as far as I was concerned. I didn't want to worry you."

Amanda spoke up. "I think it's time we all were a little more open around here. Everyone has secrets from everyone else. Stetson, I seem to recall you saying something to me once about 'just another evening in the spy family.' It was a different situation, but 'spy family' sure fits us."

Lee laughed ruefully. "You would bring that up. I don't know how open we can always be, Amanda. I can see Matt's point, even though I still wish I had known what was going on. On the other hand, imagine if Matt had been worried about Sarah. Rene did the right thing…"

Amanda thought for a moment. "I suppose you're right." Amanda rested her palm against Sarah's cheek briefly. "I know this was upsetting for you—it must have been terribly frightening to have those men chasing you…"

"It was upsetting. But I dreaded telling you that I'd put myself in danger like that—and wrecked my car in the process. I hate disappointing you. Honestly, I've been pretty stressed out all week."

"Oh Sarah, it was unwise to run from the agents protecting you—I hope you have learned from your mistake. But those men put you in danger—you didn't do that. And as for disappointing us," Amanda looked past Sarah to Lee, "you have never done that. We love you. We've always been proud of you—and it sounds like you did a remarkable job with your driving. This is distressing to hear because you could have been taken from us. Not because you did anything wrong."

"Your mother is right. The first thing I thought when I saw your car was that I had put you in danger because of my job. I'm so sorry this happened, Pumpkin."

Matt had been sitting silently, anguished. "If anyone is at fault, it's me."

Everyone's eyes turned on him. Lee was the first to speak. "How so?"

"I didn't exercise due diligence. I was sloppy. Somehow they found the house." In an effort to control his emotions, Matt looked up at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at the Stetsons. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't know that they followed you here, Matt. From what you've told me, you did shake their tails—three times."

"There is no need for anyone to take the blame, here." Amanda directed her remarks to both Matt and Lee. "We don't have enough information to know why they followed Matt or Sarah in the first place. What's done is done. We need to move on. Let's concentrate on helping Sarah get through this." Amanda looked at Matt and smiled reassuringly.

Matt sat back in his chair. Amanda was not sure he was fully convinced, but he did not say anything more.

Lee turned to his daughter. "Sarah, about your car. Have you called the insurance company?"

"No. I could tell it was a total loss. It's not worth much anymore, and both doors and side fenders are ruined—plus the taillight and part of the bumper. I thought I'd wait and ask you what to do."

"Since you were instrumental in helping us capture that cartel member, we're going to let the Agency cover the loss—Francine is right, we can budget it. I'll let her manage the paperwork, so it won't have my signature on it. Besides, I'm not really the chief anymore, technically."

"What? When did this happen? You just got back…"

"Your mother and I are still employed by the Agency, but we're going into semi-retirement."

"Really?" Sarah was dumbfounded.

Matt was equally stunned. "If you don't mind my saying so, it didn't seem like you were retired in Kazakhstan."

"Yes. I'm sorry to spring it on you like this. We never had a chance to sit down and talk with you once we'd made the decision, Sarah. It all happened rather quickly before we left for Kazakhstan—even before that, I guess. We decided while we were at the Outer Banks that it was time to ease off on our workloads." Lee turned to Matt. "We wanted to wait until we were done with the op and all together like this before we told you."

Sarah put her arms around her father's waist briefly, then hugged her mother. "It's about time. You both work—worked—way too hard."

"Yeah, well thanks for not saying anything about getting old, too." Lee stood up to stretch his legs and pace. "Sarah, back to the whole thing with your car." He paused to look over at Amanda, who nodded briefly. Matt wondered at the interchange.

"I'd—we would—like to help you get a replacement. We could go today." Lee glanced at the gym bag. "If you don't have other plans."

Sarah looked over at Matt, who shrugged a little. Amanda smiled at the nonverbal communication.

"Daddy, I'd love to have you come along, but I'm supposed to be on my own now. You don't need to help me buy another car."

"No, I don't—but I would like to. But if you and Matt don't mind me hijacking your plans for the day, now would be a great time to go. I just need to clean up the driveway."

"We were going out to ride the horses, but this is more important. Perhaps Sarah and I can get together later."

"Nonsense. You're coming with us. You can help pick out the car."

Matt's eyes widened and he looked at Sarah. Lee went to the couch, where he took Amanda's hand and helped her up. He looked at Sarah, then Matt. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to go."

After Lee and Amanda went downstairs, Matt turned to Sarah. "Are you sure you want me to help you pick out the car? I'm not sure that's my place…"

"You may end up driving it at some point. Certainly I'm hoping you'll at least ride in it. It's a big decision and I think you should be included in it."

Matt wondered if Sarah—or Lee for that matter—expected them to get married sometime in the future. He knew he had dreams about it—in fact, he had spent some time thinking about it the night before, after he had called his parents. He had talked about Sarah with his parents several times, but last night he had confided in them about his deep feelings for her. He knew it was too soon to ask her. _I'm not sure I'm ready for that, yet. They just want you to ask her to come with you to Texas at Thanksgiving. Stop fretting about this, Granger. She's not asking you to marry her. She's just asking you to help her pick out a car. This whole thing has been traumatic for her. God knows you were sick at the sight that Corolla._

He looked at Sarah, who was watching him expectantly. "Thank you, Sarah. It might be kind of fun." He smiled crookedly at her, then looked over at the bag. "Your parents didn't say anything about my duffle…"

"They know you didn't stay overnight." Sarah closed the distance between them. "Thank you for being here this morning. It means so much to me…"

Matt took Sarah's hands in his. "I'm glad I could be here to support you, although I think your parents took the whole thing pretty well, once they figured out what happened." Matt looked down at their hands. "It was so hard not to take you in my arms and hold you when I saw that car."

Sarah looked up at Matt's face, then put her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. "I love you, Matt."

He returned the kiss. "I love you, too, Sarah. So much." He closed his eyes and held her tightly to him.

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Amanda turned to Lee as he followed her into the house. Finally out of sight of Sarah, her calm demeanor had turned to one of anguish. "Lee, the cartel went after our daughter."

Lee embraced Amanda. "I know. Thank God Cheryl was there."

"It had already gone too far before that. They could have killed her in the church."

Lee didn't say anything. He pulled Amanda more tightly against him.

"You don't think they wanted to kill her, do you?"

Lee pulled back to look into Amanda's eyes. "No, I don't."

"Before you go car shopping, we need to find out what Francine knows. I want to be sure they won't go after her again."

"I feel the exact same way, Amanda." As they moved over to the couch in the den, Lee pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Francine. "I'm asking her to call me right away. I'll put it on speaker when she does."

"Lee, I think Sarah needs to see someone. She needs help working through this. This is the first time we haven't been there to support her through a crisis like this. It hasn't been that long since I was taken hostage, either. All this stress would be a bit much for even a trained agent."

"As much as I hate to say it, I think you're right about her needing to see someone. We should ask her to talk to Dr. Kirby."

"Perhaps we can talk with him on Monday…"

"Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't pressure her about the car right now…"

"Well, she does need to have something to drive. Are you really wanting to help Sarah pay for her car? Do you think she even knows what she wants?"

"I hope you don't mind that I went ahead and made that offer. You know that with Sarah's scholarships, we've hardly used any of that money my parents left me. The goal was to save it for all of our kids, not just Phillip and Jamie. Why can't she make use of some of it? There will still be plenty left over for other things—like a wedding or something."

At the mention of the word _wedding_, Amanda looked into Lee's eyes. "Are you starting to come around, Mr. Stetson? It was nice of you to insist that Matt join you."

"You know, I've come to like Matt an awful lot…"

"The poor guy hasn't proposed. I hope you aren't making any assumptions."

Lee ran a hand through his hair again. "Of course not. They haven't been together that long. I just can see where things are headed. It's like watching us all over again, sometimes—after I finally had the guts to tell you how I felt about you."

"Sarah is so much like you, Lee. When she looks at Matt, I'm seeing your expressions."

"Nah, she looks like you."

"She looks like both of us. She has your beautiful eyes." Amanda reached up to caress Lee's cheek.

Just then Lee's phone rang. He smiled at her and kissed the palm of her hand before answering it.

"Stetson here." Lee put the phone on speaker as they went to sit on the couch in the den.

"Welcome back, you two. Lee, I've decided to give you back your job."

"Very funny, Francine. Hello to you, too."

"We just heard Sarah's story—when were you planning to fill us in?"

"I thought it best to wait until you got back. And as for giving you back your job, you can blame your daughter for that. Thanks to her, I had an operation in Kazakhstan and a full-scale chase running through Chantilly at the same time."

"This wasn't her fault entirely." Lee grew defensive. "Are you really telling us that it happened at the same time as the op in Kazakhstan?"

"Yes. And no, it wasn't entirely Sarah's fault. She just pulled an old trick—I seem to remember you getting after your wife quite a number of times for not waiting in the car."

Lee raised his eyebrows and looked at Amanda, who avoided his gaze and directed her voice to Lee's phone. "Tell us the rest, Francine. What doesn't Sarah know?"

"They got away. There are still four of the original six men from the arms deal. There may have been a seventh at some point, but that information is unclear. We know that they managed to shoot down the helicopter that we used. It was enough of a distraction to allow their private jet to take off. At least no one was hurt."

"Any word on who owns the jet?" Lee was fighting the urge to pace.

"It was a rental. We did trace it to Monterrey. We already had agents from the Mexico bureau monitoring these guys, but we didn't make the connection until we had id'ed them from our footage at Dulles."

"We heard about the footage of the chase. I expect Phillip will make sure we've seen it before the weekend is out."

"Yes, Sarah did an excellent job with her driving. Lee, Amanda, that's not all."

Amanda looked up at Lee's face as she grasped his arm. Lee had not missed Francine's tone, either. His mouth was set in a grim line and Amanda watched the muscles of his cheek working. He spoke for the two of them. "Tell us."

"They are planning another run at Sarah." Francine hesitated for a moment, then continued. "They are trying to get at the Agency by kidnapping the daughter of two of our higher profile employees."

Lee and Amanda were silent as they took in this news. Amanda gripped Lee's arm more tightly as Lee ground out his next words. "How did these b- How did they find out who she was in the first place?"

Francine did not hesitate. "We have a mole. Our agents in Monterrey—Carlos Mendez and Julia Garcia—managed to plant a bug at the table where they regularly meet. They overheard the Mexicans say they had a man giving them information about Sarah. I just heard about the mole today. I'm waiting to listen to the surveillance recording."

"Do you have any idea who it is? Who's hurting for money?"

"Honestly, we have no clue. This came as a complete surprise."

"Who's the 'we' in all of this, besides you?"

"Phillip, Jamie, Wong, and Efraim. I haven't even told Enriquez or Gonzales and Johnson. Those are the agents most closely linked to this case. Tanaka and Smith were at the house when Sarah left for church, but they had been out of the loop until that point."

"I don't care. Keep an eye on them, too. It could be anybody. We can't trust anyone until we figure this out."

"Lee, Amanda, they said they are staying in Monterrey until we let our guard down. That buys us some time. When you come in for your debriefing on the Kazakh case, I'll need to meet with you and make up a plan."

Amanda broke in. "Shouldn't we involve Matt Granger in this?"

Francine did not answer immediately. "Are you absolutely sure that he isn't suspect? I think we need to leave him out of the loop for now."

"Francine, that's uncalled for. Matt is already receiving a commendation and a raise for his actions during the Birol case, and Lee wants to recommend him for another commendation for his work on the Kazakh case. He defused a bomb, nearly died from an overdose, and had to fake being gunned down. Clearly he's a dedicated agent and he's very protective of Sarah. I can't even fathom him being involved in a plot to kidnap her."

Lee sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Amanda, as much as I hate to say it, Francine is right. You do make several good points. In fact, I have learned to trust Matt and I'm pretty fond of the guy, but we all know we've been burnt before."

"I don't have to like this."

Francine was apologetic. "Look, I'm sorry Amanda. I don't like it either. You know how it goes with moles. Remember what happened at DHS recently."

Amanda remembered the case. One mole had been responsible for the deaths of five agents and three civilians.

"As soon as we can clear Matt, he needs to be in on this. Lee and I are walking a fine line by leaving him out of the loop. He and Sarah are quite serious, and I don't want to jeopardize our relationship with him. Besides, once we prove he is innocent, we will need his help."

"Amanda is right, Francine. We need to work on clearing Matt right away. Let us know if anything happens before we see you on Monday."

"I will. And for what it's worth, I'd like to think that Matt is who he appears to be. Sarah seems very happy. I never could figure out what she saw in Jeff."

"Don't get me started, Francine. Amanda is already shooting daggers at me with her eyes."

"Okay. See you Monday."


	2. Chapter 2

Despite her nervousness while test driving the vehicles, Sarah had to admit that the S80 was more powerful than the smaller sedans. Lee was pleased that she wanted the larger car, but he frowned a little when she said she wanted the metallic blue one over the black demo.

"Daddy, I can pay for the difference between the two cars. I can afford it."

"You'll do no such thing. I talked you into getting this car—we might as well get you the color you want. Besides, it had a nice package." _And it will sure make Frank happy. So much for my "old friend" owing me one._ Frank had been one of Lee's "family" during his Agency days, but as Amanda had noted, Frank had ended up needing favors from Lee more often than he had been helpful.

Sarah missed Lee's sarcastic expression as he turned away to go to the sales manager's office. Matt took Sarah's hand and led her over to the used cars.

"I hope you don't mind. I wanted you to take a look with me at this Charger. It seems to be almost brand new."

"You said something about getting a new car a few weeks ago. What's wrong with your Mazda?"

"I've been wanting to replace it with a bigger, more powerful car since I started at the Agency. I've been saving, and your dad said I was going to get a raise, so…"

"Oh, congratulations! I know you've done a lot to deserve it."

Smiling, he offered a simply reply. "Thanks." Normally Matt would feel embarrassed at the praise, but when it came from Sarah, it brought the opposite reaction.

They inspected the black Charger. "Sarah, this is top of the line." Matt craned his neck at the driver's window so he could see inside. It had leather seats and several of the extras that Matt had not expected to find. Most importantly, it had the engine he wanted. Matt read the fact sheet in the window. "The mileage is really low. I wonder why they sold it—it can't be more than six months old."

Matt heard the salesperson approaching. Before he could turn towards him, he heard Frank's voice. "That's okay, Manny. I've got this."

Matt looked back at Frank. Lee was not in sight. "I see you've got your eye on this beauty, Matt. Top of the line. The previous owner loved the car, but unfortunately, the wife was wanting a Volvo, so…" Frank tried to assess Matt's interest in the car, but Matt had put on his agent face. Sarah watched quietly. This was a side of Matt she hadn't seen since they first met.

"We've lowered the original price by four thousand, so I don't expect it to stay here long."

"That's not much of a savings, considering someone owned it for…"

"Only six months."

"I guess I have a decent car already. It's in excellent condition, no issues. The price is still a little steep for me."

Sarah turned away to grin to herself. _This is kind of entertaining._

"If you have a nice trade-in, I could knock a little more off the price, then give you a fair shake for the trade-in. You'd owe next to nothing."

Matt and Frank haggled over the price for a few minutes. Matt remained casual. He gave half-hearted replies to Frank's suggestions. Sarah could not read Matt's expression the entire time. Soon her father came out of the offices.

"Uh, Frank, did you want me to go sign the papers now?" She gestured to her father, who was standing with his hands on his hips.

"Oh, sorry, Sarah. That's what I came out here for. I'm sure your dad is wondering what happened to us."

Sarah started to walk towards the offices, but Matt hung back. He wanted to see what Frank would do.

Frank looked anxiously towards Lee, then back at Matt. "You drive a hard bargain, and we both know I don't get anything for used cars. But I'll meet you at your price. Join us inside. I'll order some sandwiches. That should keep Lee from blowing his top at me."

"I might be interested—once I've given it a test drive and looked the car over. And if you knock the equivalent of the custom color price off any deal you've struck with Lee for the S80. If anything is out of order, the deal is off."

"No wonder Stetson likes you. What have I gotten myself into? We'll take the test drive after you take a look at the Charger and we get these Volvo papers signed—and after I feed Stetson. And you."

Matt smiled to himself as waited for one of the other salespeople to unlock the car so he could take a look. _If this car checks out, I've saved myself thousands of dollars and another six months of waiting. And Frank won't be unhappy. He'll be that much closer to his monthly quota._ He pulled out his phone so he could talk to his father as he inspected the car.

Two hours later, Matt pulled up to the curb on Maplewood Drive in the Charger, with Sarah in the passenger seat. After they had brought the Volvo home, she had gone back with him in the Mazda to finish the trade. They sat in the car a minute, looking over the features.

Amanda came out of the house to admire Matt's new car as they finally emerged from the vehicle. "Hello there. I have to say I'm pretty surprised you both have new cars now."

"Well, I was planning to wait another six months, but I hadn't expected to find such a good deal…"

"That's what I hear."

"And honestly, I think this car is safer…" Matt looked at Amanda, hoping she would understand his meaning. Her eyes clouded over briefly as she nodded at him.

Lee walked over from the driveway, where he had been checking out Sarah's car.

"Congratulations, Granger. Sarah told me you worked Frank hard." He chuckled. "And thanks for saving me that six hundred dollars so Sarah could get her custom color for free."

"Yeah, well I felt kind of guilty for bringing up the metallic blue within earshot. You know, I didn't even have to get a loan—I didn't think I'd saved enough. But, I guess I really lucked out." Matt grinned in spite of himself. "I talked with my dad about the condition of the car and the engine. He thought I shouldn't pass it up."

"Daddy, it's top of the line. It has leather seats—it even has seat warmers in the back. I'm sure you know all about the engine."

"I heard it when you drove up. Well, I hope you enjoy your own car as much."

Sarah reached over to put her arms around Lee's waist. "Oh, you know I love it. I'm so glad you talked me into it. It was very generous of you."

Lee hugged Sarah back. "Well, I guess you could consider it a gift from my parents. You worked hard and earned those scholarships…" He interrupted himself with a yawn.

Amanda looked at her watch. "It's going on three o'clock here, but it's the middle of the night in Kazakhstan. I'm ready to crash."

Lee looked over at Amanda. "A nap sounds good right now."

Sarah and Matt walked up the driveway to her apartment stairs after stopping to look over the Volvo. He had his arm around her shoulders and she had reached up to hold his hand. "It was interesting to watch Agent Granger in action. I haven't seen that side of you since we met."

Matt squeezed her hand. "I like to give you the real thing. That agent persona is just the way they trained me to act—you know how it is." They walked up the stairs together.

"Well, it worked on Frank. I imagine you must be quite good at getting information from people."

"Sometimes." Matt was enjoying the praise coming from Sarah, but he did not want to seem immodest.

As Sarah shut the door after them, Matt felt a wave of drowsiness come over him. The same jet lag Amanda and Lee had felt was hitting him suddenly. Sarah had not missed his expression.

"Oh, Matt. You look exhausted. Do you want to lie down?"

"Maybe I could just stretch out on your couch for a little bit. I hate to waste our time together…" Matt wasn't sure he could make the drive to his apartment.

"Don't worry about that. Look, that couch won't hold you. Go lie down on my bed. I can grab my laptop and work on bills, maybe go down and clean out my old car…"

"Oh Sarah, the couch will be fine."

Sarah could see Matt was uncomfortable. "Pretend you are just a guest here. I won't be there with you, if that's what's bothering you."

Matt's eyes grew wide and Sarah couldn't help but laugh a little. "And I thought I was more reserved than you were."

Matt decided to ignore her remark, since it would only increase his discomfort to talk further. "If you're sure. Honestly, I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"I'm sure. Let me just grab my laptop bag and the bills."

Matt left the door to Sarah's room slightly ajar and lay down on the side of the bed she didn't use. He could smell the scent of her hair—just like his mother's rose garden—coming faintly from the pillow next to him. His mind started to wander to places he had determined not to go. _This is why I didn't want to lay down on her bed._ Drowsiness overwhelmed him as he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Soon exhaustion won out and he was sleeping soundly.

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Lee followed Amanda into the house and locked the door behind them. He caught a glimpse of her face as she went into the kitchen for a drink of water. "Amanda, I know that look. You are wondering how Matt got the money for his car, aren't you?"

"I'm ashamed to say the thought crossed my mind. Here he is confiding in us, and I am jumping to conclusions because there's this kernel of doubt in my mind now."

"If it's any consolation, I thought the same thing. I want to trust Matt. Like I said earlier, I have gotten kind of attached to him. The sooner we can prove that he's not the mole, the better, if you ask me. I think we need to check out his money trail now and set our minds at ease."

"Oh, Lee. I was hoping someone else could do the snooping. I hate this. You know, he was trying to tell me that one reason he bought that Charger today was because he wanted a safer car for Sarah's sake. He seemed so sincere, Lee."

He could see that Amanda was getting increasingly distressed over Matt. He drew her into his arms and held her for a moment. "Perhaps you could go lay down while I run the check on his financials." He pulled his head away so he could see her face. Seeing the relief there, he kissed her gently and led her to the stairs. "I'll be up to take a nap with you as soon as I am done."

"Hopefully he will never know we doubted him…"

"I hope so, too."

It was an hour later when Lee joined Amanda on the bed, where she slept soundly. Despite his careful movements, she stirred in her sleep. He watched her for a moment and settled himself next to her. He sighed. He knew he had no doubts about Matt's financial reports, but he was not sure he would be able to put Francine's concerns to rest. He closed his eyes, hoping he could go to sleep instead of worrying about Matt.

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It took a few moments for Matt to get his bearings. Roses. He recognized the scent and remembered he was lying on Sarah's bed. He checked his phone. _I've slept for over two hours. Maybe I can make up for it by taking her to dinner._ Matt listened to the sounds coming from the other room and smiled to himself. Sarah was quietly shuffling papers and working on her laptop. _She's probably at the table, paying her bills. I wonder if this is what it would be like if we were married…_

Matt got off the bed silently and straightened the bedspread and pillow before creeping from the room. Sarah did not turn around from her work at the table. She had braided her hair to the side, so the back of her neck was bare. Matt focused on the smooth skin that lay exposed as he moved one step at a time towards her chair. Finally he was close enough to kiss her lightly on his target and whisper in her ear. "Hello, beautiful."

Sarah did not look up as she spoke. "Hello yourself, handsome. Did you sleep well?"

Matt laughed and went to sit in the chair near Sarah. "How did you know I was there? I didn't think I made much noise."

Sarah smiled at him. "Actually, you were almost silent. I just could tell you were there."

"You're just trying to make up for insulting my spying skills."

"I'm serious. Like the time you sneaked in here to see if I was really Sarah Stetson and not some terrorist. I knew you were there. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Then, when I saw your silhouette in the dark, I nearly died of fright."

"Oh, I was hoping you'd forgotten that. Not one of my best moments."

"You were doing your job. You didn't know who I was. If you think about it, you were looking out for me already."

"Right. You were scared to death. But you did recover quickly and offer me some muffins. I think you had me hooked right then." Matt patted his stomach.

"Oh, I see. You only like me for my cooking—well, technically, my mom made those muffins."

Matt reached over and put his hand on her arm. His voice grew soft. "Actually, it was the way you forgave me so quickly. That and the brave way you dealt with everything. For such a sweet person, you have a lot of strength, Sarah. That's what I love about you."

Sarah's eyes glistened and she didn't say anything for a minute. "Thank you, Matt. You are always so good to me. I haven't really felt that way today—strong, I mean."

"You've been dealing with a lot. I think you've held up well." Matt leaned over and kissed Sarah's cheek. "I should let you finish up. To be honest, I'm really hungry."

"I just need to put everything away and change my clothes. Then we can go to dinner."

As Matt was retrieving his boots from Sarah's bedroom, he heard her phone ring. He went back to the table and sat down.

"Yes, Daddy. We were just heading out. I can do it right now before I change out of my jeans…No, I'll do it. I can get in and out of it much more easily…Okay. I'll see you in a minute."

Sarah cleaned up the table while she filled Matt in on the conversation. "Daddy has found a wrecker that will pay cash for the Corolla. They are coming in the morning."

"On a Sunday?"

"Apparently this is some old snitch of his. Augie, or someone like that. I guess Daddy thought it would be nice for all of us to get the Corolla out of sight, and Augie owed him a favor."

"Why don't you let me move the car?"

"It's okay, Matt. You'd have a hard time getting into the driver's seat. I'll do it. Maybe you could move the Volvo for me while Daddy moves Mom's SUV?"

"Sure. You know, I was wondering if it might make your dad happy if we drove the S80 tonight."

"I'm sure you would love to take the Charger."

"I would, but I'll be able to drive you around in it tomorrow. I feel like I stole your dad's thunder."

"I hope you don't think I'm a spoiled rich girl, having my daddy buy me a new Volvo…"

"I know you and your parents better than that. Your dad said he had a fund set aside. I didn't think anything of it."

Sarah smiled down at Matt for a moment. "I love you, you know. It means a lot that you are thinking of Daddy's feelings."

Matt stood up and took Sarah's hand. He looked in her eyes for a moment. "I care about you both—I want what's best for you, Sarah. Let's go down before your father wonders what happened to us."

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Lee was watching Matt help Sarah, who was now wearing a dress, into the Volvo. Matt shut the door and went around to the driver's side. Just then, Lee felt gentle hands encircle his waist.

"That's twice in one day that I've caught you spying, Stetson."

Lee turned around in Amanda's arms so he could return the embrace. "I'm glad you slept well."

"Did you even take a nap?"

"For about an hour. I ran the reports, then called a wrecker after I got up. He's coming tomorrow, so we moved the Corolla out to the street. He's paying cash."

"Lee, you didn't call Augie, did you?"

Lee squirmed in Amanda's arms, but she held on tightly. He decided to change the subject.

"Sarah's letting Matt drive the Volvo. I was a little worried she was embarrassed I'd gotten the car for her, but she seems okay." He sighed. "I guess they're getting an early dinner. It's only five-thirty."

"Well, it's been a busy day, and Matt gets pretty hungry with that training regimen of his…"

Lee laughed. "He does eat pretty well. Wish I still could do that."

Amanda smiled and grew serious. "What did you find out this afternoon?"

Lee's smile faded. "Let's go make dinner, and I'll tell you about it."

Amanda was chopping vegetables as Lee reheated the chicken from the night before.

"Matt was telling the truth about having saved up for that car. He has been putting money into a short term account—there's even a little left over. Maybe a few thousand. And he's got a lot more in another account—seems to be a long term investment or something."

"That doesn't look good."

"No, but if you look at the deposit history, it completely fits with what I had figured for Matt. He's single, doesn't spend a lot on himself, and saves as much as he can. It looks like he saved a large portion of his Army Intelligence pay. It all adds up."

"Oh, I hate this. I feel like such a voyeur. I know that sounds silly. We used to do this all the time…"

"But this is different. It's Sarah's boyfriend. He's almost like family." Lee had stopped to look at Amanda. "But we have to prove he is innocent. I feel in my gut that he is, but I wish we had some kind of rock-solid alibi."

"Wasn't Matt stationed in Afghanistan with Intelligence, working from different bases?"

"He spent a couple of years doing that—and received hazardous duty pay for the entire tour. His expenditures and savings match his income." Lee got out the wine and two glasses.

"Okay, that's good. Let's keep going for a minute. Then he had a permanent change of station to Belgium at the NATO facility in Mons. Was there any change in his spending habits, other than cost of living? Was all of his money accounted for there?" Amanda sautéed the vegetables in the pan.

"Yes. If he received any money above his pay, it was next to nothing—most likely gifts from family. In Belgium, he paid off his charge card every month, and he didn't start making large purchases until he was hired by the Agency."

"They were for his apartment? Mostly furniture, electronics, weight equipment? Certainly we can account for most of his pay, then."

"I have." Lee propped himself up against the counter and pondered for a moment.

Amanda turned off the stove and began serving the food. "You know, the food in Kazakhstan can be delicious, but it is nice to come home to this. It was thoughtful of Sarah to cook enough for leftovers."

Lee glanced up at her blankly for a moment. "Yeah, it was." Still lost in thought, Lee picked up Amanda's wine glass and took it with his own to the table. "Maybe there will be something on the surveillance recording."

Amanda was undaunted by Lee's distracted behavior. "At any rate, I think you have proven that he doesn't have any extra income. I don't know about you, Mr. Stetson, but I'm feeling better about this, now."

"But I wasn't able to research overseas accounts—what if he received transfers to hidden accounts and he's just sitting on the money? We'll need Jamie for that. And at some point, Matt's going to find out we investigated him."

"But if all the agents are investigated…"

"We spare his feelings somewhat, but morale goes down the drain." Lee frowned into his wine glass as Amanda joined him at the table. "I don't envy Francine."

"I just hope Matt doesn't hold it against us." Amanda began to pick at her food in a half-hearted attempt to eat her dinner. Her brief boost in spirits had dissipated.

Lee picked up his knife and fork and sliced into his chicken. "You were talking about being honest earlier. We're just going to have to bite the bullet and tell him what we did—and that we did it to prove he was innocent. But not until Monday. I don't want to ruin things for the family time tomorrow afternoon. We have to go in for debriefing. We can pull him aside and tell him before he hears about it on his own."

Amanda didn't reply. She continued to push her food around on her plate. Lee put his hand on her arm, and she looked up at him. "Please eat, Amanda. You'll feel better."

"We can at least tell him how impressed we are with how he manages his money…" Amanda gave a dubious smile, and took a bite.

Lee leaned over and kissed his wife, then concentrated on his own dinner.

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The wait had been short, and they had ended up in a secluded booth. Sitting close beside Sarah, Matt enjoyed the intimacy of the setting. It was not an upscale restaurant, but the atmosphere and the food—Italian cuisine—were better than he had expected.

Sarah had stopped eating, leaving half the pasta on her plate. Matt was accustomed to that habit now. Where he could finish all of the food on his plate and eat an occasional dessert, Sarah did not have that kind of appetite. While she looked around the restaurant, he quietly appraised her figure. _She does look thinner—and tired._ He picked up his wine glass and took a sip, then put his hand on her arm.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Sarah, but I'm a little concerned about something."

Sarah turned to him, a question in her eyes. He felt her tense slightly.

"You've lost weight…you're already pretty slender…"

Sarah looked down at her half-finished food. "I really can't eat anymore, Matt."

"Did you eat regularly while I was gone?"

Sarah watched Matt run his hand idly over her lower arm. "No. I just couldn't. And sometimes, I was so busy, I would forget."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"Most of the time. Work was crazy, then I had the debriefings…" _And the nightmares…_

"Have you thought about seeing someone—talking to someone—about what happened last Sunday? I think you are still upset about it. It might help…"

"Francine and Jamie both suggested I see Dr. Kirby." Sarah looked up at Matt. "I haven't heard anyone say they liked Dr. Kirby."

"But he knows what he's doing. Just a few weeks ago he helped me deal with an op that went badly. I have to admit I didn't like going, but he helped."

Sarah didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Okay. I think it would be good to talk about it. Honestly, it really hit me when Daddy saw the car today. I felt so stressed." She was quiet for a few more moments while the server, a pleasant girl whom Sarah guessed to be college age, came and refilled their waters.

Matt ordered some dessert to share with Sarah.

After the server left, Sarah spoke again. "Matt, I'd like to ask you something."

He put his arm around her. "What?"

"I know you can't talk about it, but were you in a lot of danger during that op you just mentioned? Was someone killed?"

"No one was killed. But they could have been." He didn't say any more.

Sarah looked leaned back a little so she could look in Matt's face. She knew the rest of his answer, although it remained unspoken.

They were quiet for a few more moments, while Matt finished his wine. Sarah took a sip of hers and set it aside.

"Sarah..." Matt's voice trailed off a bit as he waited to make sure he had her attention.

Sarah wondered a bit at Matt's change of demeanor. _Oh, he couldn't be asking me that right now. We're not there yet. He just got back from a trip._ She forced herself to calmly reply. "What is it?"

"My parents and I would like for you to go to Texas with me and spend Thanksgiving with us." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "I'm hoping your parents won't mind if you spend the holiday away from home." Matt looked at Sarah's face. At her expression, he continued.

"I was intending to leave the Friday before and come back the next Saturday. I've reserved tickets for us both, if you'd like to come. I know it's three months away, but I thought you'd need to ask for vacation time…" His voice trailed off as he looked at her expectantly.

Sensing his anticipation, Sarah took a breath and sat up a little. "Oh, I'm flattered that you'd ask me." She leaned back again so she could see his face more clearly. "You said your parents wanted me to come, too?"

"Yes. I've told them a lot about you and they're eager to meet you. My sisters are, too." Matt grinned and grew more animated. "We could make a little vacation out of it, too. Maybe go to Sixth Street in Austin and hear some live music. There are a lot of places to go dancing. I could show you around the Capitol—maybe we could go to San Antonio…"

"I'd love to go." Sarah smiled up at Matt and reached up to take the hand that still rested on her shoulder. Pulling her closer to him, he kissed her.

Just then the server arrived with their dessert. She smiled at them as she set the chocolate cake on the table and took Matt's plate. "Here's two forks. I guess you might not need a second plate?"

Sarah blushed and looked down at the table.

Matt squeezed Sarah's hand as he replied. "No, we're good. Could you please bring the check?"

"Sure thing. Shall I put this in a container for you, Ma'am?"

Sarah's head came back up as she recovered from her brief embarrassment. "Yes, please." Sarah waited for the girl to walk away, then whispered to Matt. "I can't remember being called Ma'am by anyone before. I'm only twenty-three." Sarah laughed softly.

Matt chuckled. "She seems like a nice person. I think she thinks we're a cute couple. Besides, you are rather mature for twenty-three."

Sarah blushed again and Matt chuckled once more.

They dipped their forks into the cake at the same time, but Sarah hesitated before placing the bite in her mouth. "Matt, it's very kind of you to reserve the ticket for me, but you should let me pay for it."

"Please accept it as my gift."

Sarah looked doubtful.

"Really, Sarah. It's okay." He looked in her eyes.

Sarah was still dubious. But it was impossible to say no to him when he looked at her that way. _I'm sure you're a whiz at interrogations, Matt Granger, with those gorgeous, intense grey eyes of yours and that wonderful smile._ She forced herself to concentrate on their conversation. "Well, all right. It's very generous…" Sarah finally placed the fork in her mouth.

"Maybe not. I got a good deal." Matt grinned and took another bite, while Sarah elbowed him playfully.

After the restaurant, Matt drove them back to Maplewood Drive, where they watched a movie together on the couch in Sarah's apartment. At the end, Matt was moving towards the DVD player, when Sarah put a hand on his arm. "You know, I've missed dancing with you. Do you think we could dance a little before you go home?"

Matt looked over at Sarah. His expression told her that he had missed their dances, too, but he only said, "That would be nice."

"Just a few. We have to get up for church tomorrow…"

"Pick out a playlist while I put the DVD away."

Sarah chose two waltzes, then a piece she had just purchased.

After the waltzes ended, Matt recognized the sweet melody of Debussy. He smiled down at her and pulled her closer. Like they had done on their first date, he held her hand against his chest and rested his cheek on her hair. They began to move slowly about the room. "This is our tune. When did you get it?"

"While you were in Kazakhstan. I would play it at night if I couldn't sleep." Sarah sighed and closed her eyes. Enjoying the moment, she did her best to block from her mind the reason for the sleepless nights.

Matt could not find his voice. They danced quietly through most of "Clair de Lune." Near the end, he pulled away to look at her face. She opened her eyes as he gazed down at her. "You have the most beautiful eyes, Sarah." He lowered his head and their lips met. As the music ended, Matt continued to hold her tightly to him for a few minutes.

"Thank you, Matt."

"For what?"

"For Debussy, for dancing, for a wonderful evening."

"You're welcome. I enjoyed it, too."

Finally Matt pulled away. "I should go. You are tired, and I will be tomorrow if I don't go to bed soon, too."

"Tomorrow we can drive around in the Charger after church. Daddy asked if we could bring both cars to the track. He said he'd bring my car so I can practice some maneuvers."

"I'd love to take the Charger there. Are you up for driving your new car?"

Sarah's face clouded briefly. "I'd rather just watch you, but I know Daddy is right. We do this every time we get a new car in this family. Thankfully, Leatherneck is happy to indulge him on a weekend. He enjoys it, too. Sometimes he lets us take out the older cars and practice our bootlegger turns."

"Well, I can ride along with you in your car, if that will help." Matt went to the door and picked up his gym bag.

"Oh, thank you. It would." Sarah followed him and reached for the knob, but did not open it yet. "The usual nine-fifteen?"

"I'll see you then." Matt kissed her one last time, then slipped out as Sarah opened the door. She went to the window and watched him walk to his car. As if sensing her gazing after him, he turned back and raised his hand towards her. She smiled and waved back.

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Matt leaned back against the hood of the Charger and watched as Sarah chatted with Jennifer, Amy, and Jessica while they waited for Leatherneck outside the gate to the track. Seth and David chased each other in some kind of game nearby while Lee and Amanda stood with Phillip, speaking quietly. Matt's eyes went back to Sarah before glancing at Jamie as he approached and stood near Matt.

"She's a beauty, Matt."

Matt knew Jamie was referring to the car, but he could not help thinking the same about Sarah. He directed his attention to Jamie. "Thanks. I couldn't pass up the deal. I was looking at another six months of waiting, but I saved quite a bit this way."

"That's great." Jamie looked over at the women, then back at Matt before leaning against the hood next to him. "I'm sorry about the video. Phillip just doesn't realize sometimes…"

Matt shifted uncomfortably and looked back at the women. At the house, Phillip had called everyone except Jennifer, Amy, and the kids into the study. Having hooked up his laptop to the large screen television with an HDMI cable, he started the video as soon as everyone was in the room.

Matt wished Sarah had stayed with Amy and Jennifer. Jessica had needed help on her history report—the first of the school year—and as soon as the video had started, he knew her being there was a mistake. Matt stood in shock as he watched Sarah's car maneuvering the winding roads of Chantilly at a breakneck pace. He could hear Sarah and Cheryl speaking to Francine over the phone in a voiceover that Phillip had added to the footage. To the untrained ear, Sarah sounded like a calm professional, but he could detect the fear there. He started to feel nauseous as the sedan closed in on her car. Suddenly it pulled alongside of her vehicle and Sarah swerved to avoid it. On the second try it rammed the Corolla violently. The audio picked up the sound of the crunching metal.

Amanda let out a small gasp Lee put an arm around her shoulders, then raked his free hand through his hair.

Seated on the couch beside her parents, Sarah was no longer looking at the screen.

A knot was growing in Matt's stomach, nearly making him sick. At the point in the video where Sarah forced the other car off the road, she suddenly leapt off the couch and pushed her way past Jamie. With Matt on her heels, Sarah rushed out of the room, past a surprised Jennifer, and onto the patio. Neither Matt nor Sarah heard Jamie speaking angrily to Phillip.

Sarah wrapped her arms about herself and started pacing to and fro. Glancing over her shoulder at the women inside, she hurried off the patio and headed for the side gate.

"Sarah, wait. Please." Matt had never seen Sarah this agitated. He caught up to her and put a tentative hand on her arm. "Let's go for a walk."

Finally acknowledging him with a brief glance, Sarah allowed Matt to guide her out of the yard and down the street. He looked back at the house and saw Lee watching them from the front door.

They walked in silence for several minutes before Sarah spoke. "It was like watching one of those reality police shows, but it was me. I don't know why Phillip thinks it's so entertaining."

Matt didn't say anything for a minute, then quietly ventured, "He's proud of you."

"I don't share his feelings. Inside the car it was so different. I felt this huge burden—for Cheryl, for the other agents, for the people in the helicopter. It was my fault we were in that mess. What if someone had gotten hurt?" Sarah stopped and looked at Matt. "Well, the driver I forced off the road was hurt. But I'm not sure I care. And that scares me, too."

Matt hugged Sarah to him. "I feel the same way about the driver. After all, he was chasing you and he hit you. You could have been killed. It's natural to be angry when someone does something like that to you—or to someone you love. But Sarah, those agents were doing their jobs. You endangered your life, which is terrifying to me, but you also helped the Agency and DHS catch one of the members of the Mexican cartel. That's huge. He's given them intel about the other members of his organization." Matt looked away for a moment. "I probably shouldn't be telling you that."

They started walking slowly back towards the house, hand in hand. "I was so angry—I feel badly that I made a scene. I just wish Phillip wouldn't make such a show out of the footage. He even added the audio…"

Matt spoke softly. "Your voice was as cool as a professional agent's, but you sounded scared under all that."

Tears sprang to Sarah's eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "I was. I don't know how you all do this for a living."

"You get used to it. But it isn't for everyone. Jamie and Phillip aren't in the field…"

"They were at one point. But I don't think Jamie liked it. Phillip enjoyed the thrill of field work, but Amy asked him to take the desk job. He's really better suited to it, anyway. Even if he is a jerk about how he uses his technical abilities sometimes."

"Phillip is very good. I've been on ops where he's helped save lives—including mine—by being on top of things."

Sarah looked up at Matt. His words had been gentle, but she understood his meaning. "You're right. I need to forgive him."

Matt pulled himself from his reverie. Jamie was watching him, a curious look on his face.

"Sorry. I was remembering something from this afternoon. Sarah plans to speak with Phillip. She knows she needs to forgive him."

Jamie blew out his breath. "Where were you when we were younger? Those two have always butted heads—usually Lee or Mom would have to talk Phillip into apologizing to Sarah. In fact, they're working on that right now." Jamie looked over at Sarah, then back at Matt. "You have a way with Sarah, Matt…"

Matt shifted uncomfortably at the praise. "It was Sarah's choice."

"But you helped her work it through. I haven't seen her that angry in a long time. Actually, I'm pretty ticked at Phillip myself."

"I care about her. She just needed to talk." Matt shrugged and changed the subject. "Jamie, how did Cheryl seem after the chase? Was she rattled?"

"Not really. Not like a typical civilian would be. I couldn't figure out if it's just her personality, or if she had been in a similar scrape before. I asked Lee about it earlier—I was thinking about her, too. He said they had had a few close calls back in the day."

"When we saw her today she was concerned about Sarah, but rather calm. She even asked me to come to her house tomorrow night to fix her porch light. It was just like any other Sunday for her."

Jamie furrowed his brow. "We should bring this up at the meeting tomorrow. Does she know you're Agency, yet?"

"No. She doesn't know IFF is a cover for the Agency—at least she doesn't seem to." He pushed away from the Charger. "Meeting? I have a debriefing for Kazakhstan and some kind of interview with Francine and Wong…"

Jamie realized his mistake too late. "Well, we should mention it to Lee at some point."

Matt wondered about the meeting. _Were they having a meeting to discuss the cartel case without me? _He'd spotted the tails. They had been after Sarah. Why would he not be in on a meeting related to the cartel?

Matt's thoughts were interrupted with the arrival of Leatherneck. Eagerly anticipating a ride on the track in Matt's Charger, Seth and David ran back to the car, arguing over who would get the front seat first. Jamie took them aside to settle the debate while Matt went over to speak with Lee, Sarah, and Leatherneck.


	3. Chapter 3

Matt was up earlier than usual, already at his workout. After driving at the track the day before, he and Sarah had made a quick dinner together and spent some time relaxing on the couch before making an early night of it. Matt grinned ruefully to himself. Relaxing might not be the right word. They had kept their hands in the usual proper places, but the kissing was another story. As Matt had found his lips wandering along her jawline and eventually to her neck, Sarah's response had told him that she had enjoyed it. They had both felt a passion that he was fairly certain neither of them had experienced before. _Granger, you're a fool if you think you have things under control._ He decided it was a good thing they would not see each other until lunch on Tuesday. _At least we're both too proper to make out in public. You made a promise to Sarah to wait—and you know you've always said you'd wait until marriage. You're going to have to set some limits for yourself—and think seriously about marrying the girl._ Matt frowned. This commitment to wait had seemed so easy when he was surrounded by his church friends in high school and college. Even Sarah, who had only recently begun attending church seriously, was determined to wait. In his heart he knew it was the best thing for the both of them. _Why did it have to be so hard now? Because you're crazy in love with the girl, she's got a beautiful body, and you enjoy being physical with her. You're just going to have to get a grip and set some limits. And do some more praying._

Realizing he was taking out his frustrations too loudly on the weight equipment and probably annoying his neighbors, Matt tried to think of something else.

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As he arrived in the bullpen, Matt realized he was the only person in the room. The agents on call overnight were either still out on surveillance or had already left. Hoping to corner Wong or Francine about why he was possibly being kept out of the loop on the follow up to Sarah's run-in with the cartel, he was disappointed to find them already involved in an intense meeting with Lee and Amanda. It did not help when they closed the blinds after spotting him in the bullpen at his desk. After catching up on the chatter and his emails, he was relieved to see Lee and Amanda come out of Francine's office and make a beeline for his desk.

"Amanda. Lee. You're here early."

Lee was all business. "Hi, Matt. Could you walk with us?"

Concerned, Matt followed them into the conference room, where Lee shut the blinds and motioned for him to sit down. After scanning the room for bugs, Amanda joined them.

"We need to keep this brief, so I'm going to be blunt and to the point. The cartel is going to make another run at Sarah."

Matt felt like he had been punched in the gut. Trying to recover, he forced himself to speak. "When? How?"

"We don't know how, yet, but we are guessing in a few weeks."

"How do you know all this?"

"We have two agents running surveillance on the men who tried to take Sarah. They are definitely the same men who ran the arms deal with the Kazakhs, and who attacked you on the roof."

"That's no surprise…"

"But they have intel on Sarah—they have targeted her as the daughter of two high-ranking Agency employees. And they have mentioned you."

"How did they get the intel?"

"We have a mole. I'll be honest. Amanda and I were working to prove your innocence until they got a hold of the surveillance recordings…"

"Working to prove my innocence? What the?" Matt pushed back his chair and stood up, his grey eyes flashing.

Amanda gave Lee a look. He knew that he should have let her do the talking.

Amanda took over. "Francine wasn't taking any chances. She knows how you feel about Sarah, but as Chief, she is responsible for the Field Section. After what happened at DHS..."

Matt cut her off. She could see the hurt in his eyes. "I'm in love with your daughter. I'd give my life for her. What else is there to prove?"

"Nothing, Matt. You've saved all of our lives at one time or another. This is no way to pay you back. That's why Lee and I were fighting to get you in on the investigation—and you are, now."

Matt's posture, stiff and defensive, relaxed somewhat. "Thanks, I guess."

"You have every right to be angry with us. Believe me, I—we—were angry about you having to become a suspect along with every other agent in that bullpen who has worked to keep our family safe at one time or another. But you need to know why there is now no doubt about your loyalty, Matt."

Matt did his best let his anger dissipate. He was in on the investigation to protect Sarah. Being defensive would not keep him there. "What was it?"

"Those recordings proved that these men have no high opinion of you. They are willing to kill you to get to Sarah."

"They will kill me, or they might kill me?"

Lee finally spoke up again. "It doesn't matter, Matt. Once they get back into town, you are both in a safe house. We have to assume they will kill anyone who gets in the way of grabbing Sarah. They want to impress Juan Gutierrez—you've probably heard of him—and they figure delivering Sarah to him is the best way to do that." He looked over at Amanda, who had wrapped her arms around herself. Standing, Lee went to pull her into an embrace.

Matt watched them. "Does Sarah know?"

"No. We are keeping a close eye on the men—we've sent additional agents to Monterrey—so we know you both are safe for now. Once she knows, she'll be living in fear, and we're just dreading that."

Matt sank into a chair. As the full meaning of the threat against Sarah finally sank in, he felt his throat constricting and his stomach tightening into a knot. "Why can't we just have a team go in and take them out? I'd volunteer."

"Because we don't have enough on them to justify such a move—and the international incident it might provoke. I don't like this any more than you do, Matt." Lee's expression was cold as he began pacing. "We need to lure them back here. Hopefully capture them all, if not take some of them out."

"When will this hell end? What if we don't catch them?" Matt choked out.

Amanda went to him. She lowered herself into the chair next to his and put a hand on his shoulder. "We can't think that way, Matt. We will catch them."

"But what if we don't?" Lee and Amanda did not answer, because they knew that Matt did not need one. Witness protection would be the only means of offering any kind of safety for both Sarah and Matt. They could be together, but they could not see their families.

Amanda put a hand on each of Matt's shoulders and swiveled him in his chair towards her. "Matt, we can't afford to think that way. You owe it to Sarah and to yourself to put everything you have into breaking up this little ring and making these animals go away. And when we tell Sarah, which will be soon, you will have to be strong for her."

"I won't lie to her, so it will be soon." Matt was quiet for a few moments. "I have one possible lead. Cheryl Collins. I'm to go to her house tonight to fix a porch light." Suddenly Matt had an inkling of what it must have been like for Lee and Amanda to investigate him. He had been hurt and angry at the supposed betrayal, but now he was turning around and investigating this kind woman from his church.

Lee considered his comment. "That's a good start, Matt. She is one of the few people outside the family besides the agents who knows Amanda's and my connection to the Agency."

"I assume Rene is suspect."

"Actually, no. It was pretty obvious from their conversation that he isn't the mole. However, you two are the only agents who are not suspect at this point. If you want to bring Rene in on this, do it offsite."

"So how exactly were you 'working to prove my innocence,' anyway?"

Lee cleared his throat. "We ran your financials, going back to Afghanistan."

Matt's eyebrows went up. "That's all? If you were having trouble sleeping, I'm sure that took care of it."

Lee could not help grinning over at Matt. "Actually, we were impressed." Lee listened at the door for a moment. "Look, people are beginning to arrive. We need to break up this meeting. You will report to us unless you have an opportunity to talk with Francine or Wong without it looking suspicious—and they said to tell you that your meeting with them is cancelled. You are meeting with us, Francine, Wong, Jamie, and Phillip at eleven. Hopefully we will all know more at that point. We'll text you when we get the conference room arranged."

Matt grimaced. "I figure that meeting alone with Francine and Wong had something to do with me being a suspected mole." When Lee and Amanda did not argue, Matt continued. "I know Francine has a longstanding friendship with you. But how has Wong proven he can be trusted?"

"Good question. He set up the surveillance and obtained the recording. It's highly unlikely a mole would give up critical information to cover for himself."

"Maybe…or he could be playing some kind of sick game to cover his tracks."

Lee considered this for a moment. "Okay, let's leave him out of the loop as much as we can without making him suspicious as well. We'll get word to the others to be careful at the meeting."

"Lee, we need to get to our meeting with Gil."

Matt remembered his conversation with Sarah of Saturday night. "Wait." Matt spoke quickly. "Amanda, Lee, I have been pretty concerned about Sarah's reaction to that car chase. I noticed that she lost weight while we were gone, and she admitted that she hasn't been sleeping well. She agreed to see Kirby. I don't have clearance to get that approved. I was wondering if you would be willing…"

Lee looked at Amanda, who smiled a small smile. "We were thinking the same thing. I'll make the arrangements after we leave here." Amanda moved to put her arm around Matt. "There is one good thing in all of this, Matt."

At Matt's questioning look, she continued. "She has you. We're very glad about that."

Matt swallowed hard. He couldn't trust his voice, so he nodded and gave Amanda's shoulders a squeeze.

Amanda grabbed cups and quickly poured into each one a little stale coffee from the machine in the corner. She handed two of the cups to the men and kept one for herself as she offered them a knowing look. "We need some kind of excuse for this meeting—we've become friends, Kazakhstan…"

Matt followed Lee and Amanda out of the conference room as all three appeared to be chuckling over some private joke. They tossed their cups into the trash nearby and went their separate ways, but they were not unobserved.

As Matt approached his desk to grab his suit jacket, he spotted Rene walking into the bullpen.

"Matt, my man!" Rene strode up to Matt and gave him a slap on the back. "Congratulations. I heard things went well."

"Yeah. You're looking good, Rene."

"Thanks. I'm feeling almost as good as new. Just don't make me laugh too hard." Rene pretended to hold his ribs in pain, then chuckled.

"Hey, Man. Thanks for looking out for Sarah." Matt spoke quietly, letting the hustle and bustle of the early morning activity cover his words.

Rene matched his voice to Matt's. "I'm glad I could help. Your instincts were dead on. I'm just sorry we didn't get those jerks. If only I had stayed with her on Sunday instead of sleeping in…"

"Rene, you needed a break. I've heard and seen all the different angles. No one was prepared for these guys." Matt looked at his watch. "I have to get to my debriefing. Let's at least do lunch at twelve o'clock—if I don't see you sooner. We need to catch up." Matt gave Rene a meaningful look.

Rene understood. Whatever Matt needed to discuss was for his ears only. "I've got a quick milk run this morning, then I'll be sitting here, waiting for you."

Matt shot Rene a look of thanks as he headed towards the bullpen doors, while a pair of eyes watched him from a desk across the room.

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Sarah glanced down at her phone. Except for his "Good morning, Beautiful. Thinking of you," Matt had not texted her all morning. The text had come through during her shower, and he had not replied to her brief, but affectionate response.

_Come on, girl. He's probably having a crazy day. He may have been in on that early meeting that Mom and Daddy went to…_ Sarah had been surprised to see her parents getting in her father's car when she left for her six-thirty run that morning. Despite her rationalizing, Sarah could not keep the nagging doubts away. _Maybe Matt feels awkward about what happened last night. He did leave kind of early. Because he had an early meeting. And we were both tired._

Sarah wondered if they had taken things a little farther because they were tired and not thinking straight. _Talk about not thinking straight._ Sarah had had trouble collecting herself once they had come up for air. _We've got to set some guidelines for ourselves or we can just give up any pretense of waiting. Or we could get married._ Sarah felt her breath catch in her throat. When Matt had asked her to go to Texas with him, she was relieved he had not been proposing marriage. And the trip sounded like so much fun. She would get to meet his family. But she could not help wondering if a marriage proposal was somehow tied up in those plans. _Well, you might as well learn some patience, Sarah Stetson. You've got almost three months to wait before you'll find out. _She wondered if she would be ready by then for such a permanent step. _Who are you fooling, girl? You know he's the One. In three months you might be ready to think about marrying him._

Sarah realized with a start that her stop was up next. Since the placards for the Cold War exhibit were not due in until later in the week, the director had asked her to start research on the next project. With steam punk being a recent craze, the director wanted to create a special exhibit for the Christmas season on nineteenth century intelligence "gadgets." Many of the items would be fanciful—most likely never used—but it promised to be entertaining and educational, so Sarah was on her way to the Georgetown University library to gather books she had reserved on the subject.

After checking through her selections, Sarah was creating a stack of books to take back to the museum when she felt a hand on her arm. She whipped her head around.

"I'm sorry for startling you, Sarah." Jeff stood there, a smile on his face.

Sarah was surprised at his friendly demeanor. He had been angry when she had last seen him. She managed a brief, "Hello, Jeff," and stood there quietly.

"You look good." Sarah knew that Jeff was merely being polite. He was eyeing her critically. She knew that Matt had been right about her losing weight, and despite the makeup, it had been hard to cover up the circles under her eyes that morning.

"How have you been, Jeff?"

"I've been great. I heard you have a new boyfriend."

Sarah found the color rising in her cheeks. _What is Jeff up to? He usually doesn't play games with people. But maybe he is still angry with me._

"Oh? Where did you hear that?"

"We have a mutual acquaintance. Don't worry, I'm happy for you. I started dating Liz a few weeks ago, so I'm not pining away. In fact, she and I have really hit it off."

Sarah remembered the books in her arms when they grew suddenly heavy. She put them down on the table. Liz had been her roommate at one time. Sarah knew that they had different views about relationships, as there had been many nights when Liz had not come home from dates. Jeff's message was all too clear.

"I hope things work out for you two."

"I think things already have. You were right to break off our relationship. I think we're both happier now."

Sarah had difficulty staying calm. Jeff had been so kind to her when they dated, and so patient about waiting. The anger and resentment coming from him now was palpable, despite what he had said. "Jeff, you keep talking as if you know something about me and someone else. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Liz and I met someone in the cafeteria one day. We got to talking, and the guy figured out that you and Liz had been roommates and you and I had been in a relationship. He mentioned that you had been seeing a friend of his, and asked a few questions about you."

Sarah badly wanted to sit down. The hair on the back of her neck felt like it was sticking out, and she felt a queasy feeling in her stomach. Matt had no friends on the Georgetown campus. At least none that she knew about. Something was not right. She decided to play along with Jeff.

"What's this friend's name?"

"Jorge. He's here from another school on a short-term project. He met your friend at a gym or something a while back. But that doesn't matter. He said you and his friend had grown very close in a short time. He was a little concerned about things, so he asked us about your family."

"What did he want to know?"

"Liz told him how you were virtually an only child, since your parents married late and your mom's sons were much older. She told him that she always suspected that your parents worked for the government. And I honestly couldn't argue with her."

Sarah was alarmed. She was fairly certain Jeff knew her parents worked in intelligence, despite everyone's attempts to hide the information. She hoped that Liz had not figured it out. "Jeff, I know you're angry with me, but I'm surprised you and Liz would gossip about me and my parents like that."

"Look, the guy was friendly. We had lunch a couple of times before he asked about you. We thought he seemed sincere. At least I'm telling you so you'll know. In fact, Liz thought I should tell you about it. She's left town to go on that dig in the Saharan desert."

Sarah decided to give Jeff and Liz the benefit of the doubt—to a certain degree. _At least he told me about the conversation—this person could be fishing for background information on Matt or Mom and Daddy._ "Thanks, I guess. Look, Jeff. You need to know that I never wanted to hurt you. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner how I felt. I was afraid of hurting you, but I only made it worse."

Jeff looked at Sarah for a long moment, his expression transforming from anger to sorrow as she watched him. "And of course, all I've done is rub it in your face today, while you've tried to be kind. Don't think I haven't noticed that you never once acknowledged you have a lover." Jeff reached out and tentatively placed a hand on Sarah's cheek. "I still love you, you know.  
But I need to let you go." Jeff dropped his hand to his side. "I'm sorry for hurting you just now."

He could still read her, despite her attempts to cover the pain she had felt at his words. "He's not my lover. He's a gentleman, just like you."

"But he's captured your heart in a way I never could. I saw you once. Eating lunch together in the park. I was walking to the museum, hoping to give us one last try, but I knew I was too late—if I'd ever even had a chance. You looked so happy, Sarah. I think I also caught you together that day when you refused my marriage proposal." Jeff's expression was pained.

Sarah thought for a moment about that day. Matt had been following Sarah around the campus. It could hardly be said that she had feelings for Matt when Jeff had met him. "We had barely met. To be honest, he was kind of chasing me around and since I wasn't interested in him at the time, I was actually relieved you came up when you did. Please believe me when I say that we never dated until after you and I were apart."

Watching her for a moment, Jeff finally answered. "I believe you. I think that's what made me so angry. I thought you had been seeing someone else while we were still together."

"I wouldn't have done that to you. You were always so good to me. I'm so sorry I hurt you, Jeff." Sarah offered her hand. "Can we at least be friends?"

"I'd like that. I know I was the one who always wanted to force the romantic side of the relationship. We should have just left things as friends in the beginning."

Sarah had spent many nights thinking those same thoughts, but she only said, "I really hope you and Liz are happy. Will she be out of the country for a long time?"

Jeff looked down. "I sort of exaggerated that bit about Liz and I being 'together' just to be spiteful. We dated a couple of times, but to be honest, she's not my type. You and I had a lot more in common. Besides, she may be gone for months."

"You're a good person, Jeff. I hope you find your soul mate."

"Like you have?"

Sarah smiled. Jeff could probably read her expression, but she would not rub it in by saying the words out loud. She was grateful they were friends once again, even if perhaps they did not have as much in common as Jeff thought.

The buzzing phone in Sarah's purse gave her an excuse to head to the checkout counter. "I had better get back to the museum. My director was expecting to see me before lunch."

"You'll just make it. It was good to see you Sarah. I'm glad we could talk."

"Me, too."

Jeff leaned in to give Sarah a kiss on the cheek before he walked away.

As Sarah carted the stack of books to the counter, she fished her phone out of her purse with her free hand. Smiling, she texted her reply. "Love you, too. Can you talk in fifteen? It's pretty urgent about your work."

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As Matt looked down at his lunch of fried chicken and French fries, he was wishing he had taken the time the night before to make a few things to bring with him to work. He sat down at the table outside the fast food restaurant. "Rene, how can you eat this stuff all the time? Everything is fried at this place." Matt made a mental note to replenish the snack supply in his desk. _And buy myself an apple on the way back to the Agency._

"Oh, you and your training diet. Give it a break for once. Speaking of breaks, Patti has been bugging me to ask you and Sarah over for dinner. What are you two doing Saturday night?"

"That would be great, but we're going out to ride the horses that day. Is Friday okay?"

"Probably. We should check with our bosses and get back to each other."

Matt looked at Rene and laughed.

"What? Don't tell me she lets you make all the social decisions on your own."

"I don't know. We always decide together."

"Well, Sarah isn't here right now, so text her or something and let me know."

Matt sent a message Sarah, then started to pick at his food. He tore the batter off the chicken and attempted to eat just the meat.

Rene watched him for a minute while he ate his own lunch. "So, what's up? What couldn't you talk about in the bullpen?"

Matt shared the information that Lee and Amanda had given him about the mole at their impromptu meeting.

"Are you kidding me? I wonder who would stoop that low."

"That's not all. While I was meeting with everyone, I got a call from Sarah. Someone has been milking her old boyfriend and her old roommate for information. This guy, supposedly an international student, claims he is a friend of mine—that we met at the gym. Managed to get into the Georgetown University cafeteria. Sarah ran into her old boyfriend—he told her about it."

"Are you talking about Jeff? I met him a couple of times. He's an idiot. I don't know what she saw in him. Are he and the old roommate big mouths?"

Matt felt the same pang of jealousy combined with some other undefined feeling—was it insecurity?—that had come over him when he had spoken with Sarah earlier. "Look, I'd rather not get into details right now. But the guy did call himself Jorge. Original, huh?"

"For Georgetown?" Rene smirked. "Any plans on how to shut Jeff up so he doesn't share any information if he runs into Jorge?"

"Efraim is going to keep an eye on him. Efraim's actually some kind of history nerd, so he's going to be there to supposedly interview department members for a book he's writing."

Just then Matt's phone buzzed. He gingerly unlocked the screen, cursing his greasy fingers. "Friday it is."

"Great. I'll let you know the time when I talk with Patti. What came out at the meeting?"

"I wish you could have been there. Francine said she'd talk with you this afternoon about joining the investigation. We mostly went over stuff we already knew. Jamie is running a search on phone records—he's trying to find any calls from Mexico to anyone at the Agency. Phillip is going to check camera footage from the Georgetown campus for suspicious activity. He could use our help—it's going to take a few days even then. Tonight I'm going to do a soft interrogation on Cheryl Collins, the woman from our church. I already had plans to help her out with a repair job at her house this evening."

"She was the one who was in the car with Sarah. Does she know you're Agency?"

"No. I'm not sure she even thinks I know that Lee and Amanda are Agency. I'm supposed to figure out how much she knows about these guys that chased Sarah. And why she wasn't asking questions at church yesterday."

Rene popped the last of his fries in his mouth and looked at Matt's basket of food. "It looks like you left most of your meal in the basket, Granger. How about I buy you a protein smoothie at that juice bar near the Agency?"

"Add a couple of their cookies and an apple to the order, and you have a deal."

"What is it with you? You can eat dessert, but not fried chicken?"

Matt did not answer as he grabbed his phone and took his basket to the trash.

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Sarah's eyes glazed over as she visited yet another website, looking for multimedia presentations on steam punk. Her phone buzzed. She hoped it was Matt. Their conversation at lunch had been too brief. He had seemed distant when she told him about her conversation with Jeff. _I hope he isn't hurt. Jealous I can handle…_

It was Amanda. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello Sweetheart. Are you busy tonight?"

"Um, not really. I have some laundry, but it can wait until tomorrow night. I'm probably not going to the gym with Christina—she's busy and I'm still sore from working with the weights that Matt lent to me."

"It seems like you have your own personal trainer now."

"Yes. It's pretty nice, most of the time." Sarah laughed ruefully. "So what's up?"

"I was just taking a look at the websites for a few of the stores that offer formal dresses. Two of them have sales right now. Would you like to go shopping? We could have dinner first."

"Oh, for the opening. That's sweet of you, Mom, but you don't have to go with me. In fact, I can pull something from the closet."

"Well, I need something, too. And you should get a new dress. This is a big deal."

"What do you need a dress for?"

"For the opening."

"I didn't think you and Daddy were going."

"Of course we are."

"But Mom, it isn't…safe for you and Daddy." Sarah whispered the last words into the phone. No one at the museum knew what her parents truly did for a living.

"Let us worry about that. In the meantime, you and I need to go dress shopping. The event is in a little over two weeks. Does Matt have a tuxedo?"

"Yes. I haven't seen it, but he always has nice suits, so I'm sure his tuxedo will be nice, too."

Amanda laughed softly. "He reminds me of your father sometimes. Except your father was very aware of how dashing he looked."

"Well, Matt isn't one to accept compliments very easily."

"No, he isn't. Listen, I should let you get back to work. You'll be home around six? Can you leave soon after that?"

"Sure. See you then. Thanks, Mom. Love you."

"Love you, too, Sweetheart."

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Matt sighed in frustration. It had been a long day, followed by a busy evening. After a quick dinner at his apartment, he had hurried over to Cheryl's. Since the front porch light had required a trip to the hardware store before it could be fixed, Matt had been forced to stay longer than he had intended so he could "chat" with Cheryl. The soft interrogation had proven fruitless for their investigation. _Either she's a well-trained operative in deep cover or she's simply who she says she is. My instincts tell me she's sincere. _His mind went back to their conversation.

"So, Matt. I hope your trip went well."

He sat next to her on the couch, a plate of cookies on the table nearby. He helped himself, replying to Cheryl before taking a bite. "Yes, it did. I need to thank you for helping Sarah. I know she was scared. I can imagine how you must have felt."

"I was more worried about how Sarah was taking things. Call it motherly instincts or something. I guess I feel a bond with her. She's so much like both of her parents."

"I'm interested in hearing what you see. I've made a few of my own observations." Matt offered a conspiratorial smile and let his eyes twinkle. He felt a twinge of guilt when Cheryl bought into his charming act.

"Oh, I've seen you 'observe' your Sarah." Cheryl chuckled. "I knew her parents when they were still fairly young. About ten or fifteen years older than Sarah is now. She has her father's determination and her mother's way with people. It's a nice combination. Sometimes her father used to rub people the wrong way. Amanda had to learn about the technical side of the business from Lee, but she taught him much more about people."

"Sounds like you are pretty fond of the Stetsons."

"I'll admit that I was attracted to Lee before he and Amanda became an item. But he had already met her, so I didn't stand a chance. She was so sweet, I forgot about feeling jealous and enjoyed being her friend. It was such a delight when Sarah came along. Lee was so thrilled."

Matt could not help but smile at the thought of Lee doting on Sarah when she was a baby. "How did you meet, exactly?"

Cheryl regarded Matt for a moment. "Before I answer that, I think you should know that I recognize a class C interrogation when I see one, Matt Granger. I suspected you were Agency, but I'm certain of it now."

Matt let a mask fall over his eyes, but he knew it was probably futile to continue his charade. He tried one last time. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by Agency?"

"They asked you to feel me out and see if I knew anything about those men that came after Sarah, didn't they?"

Matt looked at Cheryl sharply. "What do you know about those men?"

"I don't know anything, except that the Agency was happy to arrest the one that didn't get away. They were after Sarah because of her parents, weren't they?"

Matt stood up and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't answer that. But I do know you've kept a lot from me, Cheryl."

"I'm going to save you the trouble of asking. No, I don't know a thing about those men. I am not even sure I can guess who they are with. Perhaps they are mixed up in the drug violence, but we are a long way from Mexico. I know more about eastern Europeans and former Soviet republics. To answer your question about the Stetsons, I met Lee at an embassy event. He was checking me out as a source, but I thought he had other intentions at first. He didn't introduce me to Amanda until he knew he could trust me. He was keeping his cards close to his chest, and Amanda was his ace of spades. He didn't want to risk losing her to some kind of Soviet agent—or whoever I might have been."

"About last Sunday. You were pretty cool under pressure, Cheryl. I was impressed."

"I got to see the Stetsons in action a few times—and helped them out of a few sticky situations, thanks to the friends I had made at embassies around town. It was as if I'd gone back twenty years when I saw the trouble Sarah was in. I guess it's like getting back on a bicycle."

Matt had no proof, but somehow he knew that Cheryl was someone he could trust—and that she had been forthright in her concern for Sarah. "Well, as I said, thank you for being there for Sarah."

"I could do no less for the Stetsons' daughter. Just do your best to help capture the ones that got away, Matt."

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Matt pulled on a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and climbed into bed. He stared at the phone for a moment, thinking about his conversation with Sarah from earlier that day. He had tried to cover his feelings. _I'm pretty sure she knows I'm jealous, or insecure, or whatever. And there was something she wasn't telling me, which didn't help things._

Matt sighed. He knew that Sarah was waiting for his call. He knew he was being unfair to her. He had no right to be jealous and she had given him no reason to be insecure. If anything, he was the one in the wrong, having all but ignored her for most of the day. He quickly unlocked his phone and called her.

Sarah felt herself nodding off for the fourth time. She had woken up with nightmares several times in the last week; she was sleepy. She sat up in bed once again and checked her phone. Nine-thirty. She was beginning to doubt that Matt would call. Sighing unhappily, she tried to concentrate on her book so she would not replay her conversation with Jeff as she had done over and over again all afternoon.

Unable to focus on the book, her eyes wandered to the powder blue dress that hung on the closet door. Chiffon that had been draped across one shoulder and the strapless bodice added a softness to the watered silk. Where the chiffon ended, the silk fitted to her torso until it flowed out into a slightly full skirt. Perfect for dancing, but also nicely suited to her figure, as her mother had said. Sarah had insisted upon paying for the dress herself. Of course the money from the sale of her wrecked Corolla had helped to cover it. She smiled as she thought of how her father had slipped the cash into her purse, hoping she would not notice.

The phone ringing on her nightstand startled her.

Matt was grateful that the phone had rung only once before Sarah answered it. He knew she had been waiting.

"Hi, Matt."

"Hi, Sarah. I'm sorry to call so late."

"You sound tired. It must have been crazy at work after coming back from being out of the country."

"Yeah. Did you have a good time with your mom?"

Sarah sat up in bed again. "Yes! We were both successful."

"Both?"

"Yes. My mom got a dress for the opening, too."

"Oh Sarah, I'm so glad they're coming. Are you going to tell me what your dress looks like?"

"Nope."

Matt chuckled. "I guess it's good I like mysteries."

Sarah could hear Matt shifting. "Are you in bed?"

"Yeah. I'm beat. And I thought it would be nice to have our call be the last thing I did before I went to sleep." Matt heard Sarah sigh. It was a special sound she made only when they were feeling particularly affectionate. He smiled to himself.

"I'm in bed, too. I was thinking the same thing." Suddenly self-conscious, she pulled at her tank top and adjusted her pajama bottoms before crossing her arms over her chest. _You are so silly, girl. He can't see you._

"Good. You need to catch up on your sleep." Matt paused for a beat. "Did you get a call from Dr. Kirby's office today?"

"Yes. I made an appointment for eleven o'clock tomorrow."

"Great! We can go to lunch right after."

"That's what I was hoping." Sarah sighed again. This time it was not that special sigh.

"You okay?"

"Yes. Matt, we should talk about the library."

"You ran into Jeff. I guess that was bound to happen at some point, right?"

"He actually found me. I was preoccupied and he came up to me." Sarah hesitated. "He seemed to be fishing for information about you at first."

"What did you say?"

"I avoided the question, I guess. You and I are none of his business."

Matt smiled to himself. "What else did he say?"

Sarah didn't answer at first. "Umm, he told me about his new girlfriend—made it sound pretty intimate. Kind of rubbing my face in it. I guess because he thought you and I were doing the same thing."

"Oh."

"Except it was an old roommate of mine and he made it sound like she was everything I wasn't."

"Oh, Sarah. He's just angry and hurt."

"I guessed that, so I apologized again for breaking things off. Then he backtracked and admitted they weren't actually—well, whatever. He said he wants to be friends. I don't really want to pursue a friendship with him, but I'm glad he's not angry with me."

"I guess he realized he'd gone too far."

Sarah grew quiet, hesitating before she spoke again. "Matt, do you get angry at me sometimes because we aren't…well…sleeping together?"

Matt sat up, crossed his legs, and put his elbows on his knees. He had not expected this. Leaning his forehead on one hand, he could only say, "Oh, Sarah. No."

"I know it was hard for you last night. Please tell me if it becomes too much. I need to know if you are frustrated with me."

"The only person I'm frustrated with is myself, Sarah. I'm twenty-five, not some hormonal teenager. But I'm also crazy in love with you, and it's hard not to show it to you physically sometimes. I guess we'll have to set some boundaries."

"Yes, because I'm crazy in love with you, too, and sometimes I feel the same way."

"Yeah—well you have more self-control than I do, and I respect you for that. Listen, we both need to get some sleep. I'm praying for you, Sweetie."

Sarah blushed at the term of endearment. "And I'm praying for you. And don't sell yourself short. You have more self-control than most other guys. I love you."

"I love you, too—and thanks. I'll work on showing more of that self-control from now on. I'll see you tomorrow after your appointment. Good night."

Sarah wanted to say something else to reassure Matt, but she decided to let things go. He might not be so hard on himself after a good night's sleep. "See you then. Good night."

Matt looked at the phone a minute before setting the alarm. He still sat cross-legged, his head on his hand. He thought of Jeff, who had exaggerated his own love life, then thrown Sarah's scruples back in her face. His insecurity and jealousy had vanished during his conversation with her. He decided that his first prayer before going to sleep would have to be for forgiveness over his newfound anger at Jeff.

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Amanda turned off the light in the bathroom, walked over to the bed, and sat down. Lee put down his book and looked over his glasses at her. "A penny for your thoughts, Mrs. Stetson."

"We need to tell Sarah what's going on. Who knows what this 'Jorge' person might do?"

"And at some point we need to debrief Jeff and tell him to keep his trap shut about us."

Amanda looked at Lee. "I think Francine has that covered, Lee. Let's worry about Sarah."

Lee took off his glasses. "You're right. We do need to tell her. But I don't think you're going to like what I'm thinking."

"Oh?"

"If we hide her and Matt in a safe house, we'll never find these jerks."

"What do you propose? They didn't hesitate to attack Matt and Rene. They almost had Sarah."

Lee was grateful that Amanda had listened with an open mind. "I don't know what we'll do, yet. I just know that you can never get rid of a terrorist by giving in to them. These people are terrorists. At least as far as my family is concerned."

Amanda kicked off her slippers and slid under the covers. "I couldn't agree more."

Lee looked down at her face. He put his glasses and his book away, and turned off the light. As he settled under the covers, he reached out and pulled Amanda to him.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt paced the hallway outside Dr. Kirby's office. The morning had been tedious just like the afternoon before, except for the brief meeting with Lee and Amanda. He agreed that running from the cartel would not solve the problem, but fear for Sarah's safety was making it difficult to think clearly. _That's part of the terrorist's game. Scare you so bad you can't use sound judgment._ Matt wondered if his emotions would further cloud the issue once they told Sarah after dance class the next evening.

He checked his watch, then stopped pacing. _This would be a good time to get that worrying under control, Granger. Sarah may need your support—may need to get her mind off things, and you're wound up tight._ Matt leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes briefly.

After a few minutes, he saw Sarah walking through the waiting area of Kirby's office. As she came out into the hallway, she smiled at him. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hi there, yourself." Matt returned the smile and moved to place his hand on the small of her back as he guided Sarah to the elevator. He was anxious to get them out of the building before too many eyes saw them together.

After ordering sandwiches at a nearby delicatessen, they walked to a park to eat their lunch. Matt scanned the area before choosing a bench. Somewhat blocked by shrubbery, it offered them a degree of privacy from other Agency personnel who might also venture there to enjoy the warm late summer day.

They chatted about Sarah's new project and about the increased hours Sarah would need to put in that week proofing the placards once they arrived.

"They're supposed to come in tomorrow, but I'll make sure I'm home in time for dance class. I may not be able to do anything on Thursday, but I have to be done by the end of the day on Friday, so I'll be free that night. I should just tell you now that it will be like this for the next few weeks, while we finish prepping the exhibit."

Matt frowned. "Sarah, I'll drive you home if you're working late."

"Matt, I don't need a babysitter."

"It's not like that. I get to see you that way—and I don't mind." Matt knew he was not being completely truthful, but something about Sarah's mood had him treading carefully.

Sarah looked at Matt a long moment. "Well, okay." She took a bite of her sandwich.

"Why the hesitation?" Matt could not help feeling a little hurt at Sarah's cool response.

Sarah finished chewing before she answered. "It's something Dr. Kirby and I talked about. He thinks I'm repressing anger."

"At me?"

"Oh, no! Not at you." Sarah put a hand on Matt's arm. "He thinks it's a reaction to all of the turmoil my family has been through, and the protectiveness…He's wondering if deep down, I'm resenting it."

"So you don't want me to drive you home, that sort of thing?" Matt was beginning to regret suggesting Sarah see Dr. Kirby.

"I love having you drive me or whatever—you were so supportive this weekend. I guess I'm just feeling out how to deal with this." Sarah stared out across the park. "What I really want is to be normal. I love that you care about me, but do you realize that from the day we met you have been protecting me just like my family does?" Sarah sighed and looked down. "I just want to live my life like other girls—be normal and carefree like my friends. Only I can't."

Matt waited. He was definitely dreading telling her about the cartel the next evening.

"The whole thing with having the agents watch my every move a couple of weeks ago…" Sarah continued, "It's given me as many nightmares as the car chase itself has."

Matt ran his hand through his hair and rested his elbows on his knees. He looked down at the ground. "Sarah, those agents probably saved your life."

"I know."

"I hope you don't see me as some overprotective jerk who's out to make your life miserable."

"Oh, Matt. You're neither of those things." Sarah put her sandwich down and knelt in front of Matt. She took his face in her hands. "I just need to work through this. Maybe I'm going too far by not wanting a ride home from D.C. at night."

"Yes."

"And you've helped me with my self-defense moves."

Matt smiled ruefully. "I've taught my girlfriend how to take me out. And you know, we still have fun. I'm really not playing bodyguard all the time. I hope we're still going riding on Saturday."

"I'm planning on it. And you're right. We still do have fun. I guess having the weekend consumed by the whole car thing—talking about the chase, car shopping, whatever-hasn't helped my mood. Although I am glad you found the Charger you wanted." Sarah leaned in and kissed Matt. "Can you be patient with me while I work all this out? Because most of what I have to work out isn't about us. It's about my family—and about me. I kind of need to find myself, I guess. I'm sorry that I made it seem like you and me were the issue. That really isn't the case."

Matt pulled Sarah back to the bench beside him. He put his arms around her. "I care about you Sarah. I want you to be happy. Loving someone is being there for them no matter what. Whether it's working something out between us or supporting you with your family, I'm there."

Sarah searched his face. "I love you, Matt." Sarah kissed him again. "Thank you for supporting me." She pulled away a little and picked up her sandwich.

"What did you mean about finding yourself?"

"Oh, we talked a little about my career." Sarah looked out across the park again, then looked back at Matt. "Do you remember me telling you that I kind of felt left out of all the intelligence stuff?"

"I remember you saying something like that."

"To be honest, I was pretty excited after Mr. Barclay talked with me—once I got to thinking about it. He was pretty enthusiastic about my driving. He even complimented me on getting away from the agents. He said Francine told him I reminded her of my parents. He thought that was a good recommendation of my talents."

Matt sat there, digesting this piece of news. _Was the director trying to recruit Sarah? For that matter, was Francine?_ There already was some debate about the number of Stetson/King family members at the Agency—but then Lee and Amanda were only working as consultants now. "Does he want to hire you?"

"It seemed like it. Please don't say anything to my family about this. I'm not sure how I feel about it. But I am finding I might not like being an assistant curator as much as I first thought I did. Or at least I would like working for the Agency more."

"What about your Master's degree?"

"Apparently they want to recruit people like me for Analysis—beef up that end of things. To be truthful, I did pick a discipline that lends itself to intelligence work."

Matt felt a measure of relief that Sarah might end up in Analysis, rather than the field. He admitted that she had all the makings of an agent, but he dreaded the idea of having her in danger on a regular basis. _I'm being selfish—a hypocrite—but I don't care. It's enough to worry about the cartel right now._ He decided to change the subject to one that had been on his mind.

"Sarah, how bad are the nightmares?"

Sarah looked down at her sandwich and did not answer immediately. "Pretty bad. I wake up almost every night."

Matt scooted closer and put his arm around Sarah. "Did Dr. Kirby help you with them at all?"

"He talked about how to relax after I've had one, so I can go back to sleep faster. He also talked about what to do before I go to bed—read a book, find something pleasant to think about."

"Like talk on the phone with your boyfriend?" Matt's eyes twinkled.

"That is always a nice thing, but I'm afraid even that didn't help last night."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Sarah smiled over at Matt. "But let's keep trying that remedy. Maybe it will help over time."

Sitting there together, they ate the rest of their sandwiches before Matt walked Sarah to the Metro station. He searched the area carefully for tails, and headed back to the Agency.

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"You know, Matt, I thought we did pretty well with our swing dancing tonight."

"I'd like to practice some more." He looked at Sarah out of the corner of his eye as they turned onto the street near her house. It was early. They had skipped coffee with their friends so they would have time to talk with her parents.

"Hah. I think Matt Granger is trying to find a way to come up for a nightcap."

"Well, actually, your parents wanted to talk with us right now. But I would like to spend some time practicing our dancing at some point."

"Oh, you mean later this week. We're having dinner with Rene and Patti on Friday and we're going to Elvan to see the horses on Saturday—might be a bit tired for dancing after that. Hmmm. Maybe if I can get through enough proofing tomorrow, we could get some take out and bring it to my place or yours, then practice our dancing."

"Let's see how it goes." Matt parked the car and got out quickly so he could help Sarah. They went to the back door and knocked before letting themselves in.

"Mom, Daddy? We're here," Sarah called out.

Lee got up from the couch in the den. "Hi, Sarah. Hi, Matt."

Amanda came down the stairs. "Thanks for stopping by. Have a seat with us. Would you like some tea?"

"No thanks, Mom. Maybe some water, please? I'll help you." They left Lee and Matt to their small talk.

Sarah brought one glass of water for herself and one for Matt, who drank his quickly. Amanda sat down on the couch next to Sarah, who was sitting close beside Matt. "How was dance class?"

"It was fun. We're feeling pretty confident about all the dances now." Sarah glanced over at Matt.

He offered, "We did pretty well, considering we'd been gone for a couple of weeks."

"I think it's great that you can do that together." Amanda's smile faded as she looked down and took Sarah's hand. "I'm sure you know that we didn't ask you to come over here to talk about your dance class, though."

"No, Mom." Sarah's face grew tense as she looked intently at her mother.

From his vantage point, Lee could see an expression that he was not used to seeing on his daughter, but it looked vaguely familiar.

"You know, when you said you wanted to talk this evening, it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. What's wrong?"

Amanda shot a knowing glance at Lee before looking back at Sarah. "There is no easy way to say this, so I'm not going to beat around the bush." She cupped her hand under Sarah's chin and looked in her eyes. "Those men who chased you in Chantilly are planning to come back for you."

Sarah wanted to pull her head away, to leap over the back of the couch, to run somewhere—anywhere. But she sat there.

Sensing her daughter's inner turmoil, Amanda gave Sarah's cheek a brief caress.

Sarah looked down at her hands and saw they were trembling. Matt's tentative hand on her shoulder brought her voice back. She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. "You knew, didn't you?"

Before Matt could answer, Lee interrupted. "Be easy on him, Sarah. We wanted to wait, but Matt said we should tell you now." He leaned forward. "There's more."

Amanda spoke quietly. "They have threatened to do anything to get to you—and Matt is at the center of those threats."

"You mean they'll hurt him to get to me." Sarah's voice was no more than a whisper. She looked first at her mother, then at her father, then at Matt. "You knew this, and didn't say anything? Oh, God. We had lunch in a public park. You're putting your life at risk every time you're with me. And all I could talk about was me, yesterday." The tears flowed freely down her face.

Matt reached out and took Sarah in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "We're relatively safe for the moment, Sarah. They have gone back to Mexico for a time. We can still go see the horses, have dinner with our friends, go to the opening…"

"This is what I was talking about. This is only for the moment. I can never be normal." She put her hands on Matt's chest and pushed away from him. "You thought you were putting me in danger—I'm putting you in danger, now."

Amanda put a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "No one is putting anyone in danger except these terrorists." Amanda emphasized her point. "And they are terrorists. And we are going to do whatever we can to stop them, Sarah."

Lee chimed in. "Sarah, you need to know that only a few people at the Agency know about this. There's been a security leak."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone is giving information about us to the cartel. For that reason, you must never mention this to Dr. Kirby or anyone else you see from the Agency—except for the short list of people looking for the mole."

"Jamie and Phillip, Matt, you two. Who else?"

"Right so far. Also Francine, Efraim, and Rene." Lee deliberately left Wong off the list.

Sarah grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table. She sat up between her mother and Matt. "What do we do once we know they want to come after me—and Matt?"

Lee hid a smile. Sarah had inherited her mother's fighting spirit. "You two go to a safe house."

"But won't that hinder your investigation? How will you catch them if we are hiding?"

"That's an excellent question. But they would still be looking. Your mother and I have been working on a sort of cat and mouse ruse." Lee ran a hand through his hair, then got up to pace. "To be honest, we still have to figure out all the details. For now, we only need to be watching carefully for that 'Jorge' character Jeff talked to. And you and Matt will go to a safe house the minute we smell trouble from the other cartel members. In fact, I recommend you both pack up some personal items you'd want with you and give the bags to me. I'll find a way to get them to you."

"What about you and Mom?" Sarah's voice was strained.

"Don't worry about us, Pumpkin." Lee's tone turned sardonic. "They plan to send us a ransom note, so they won't hurt us."

Amanda broke in. "What your father means to say is that we will be running the investigation. We won't stop until all of the men involved are no longer a danger to you."

"Wait a minute. I just thought of something. Do you remember how Jeff suspected that you two worked in intelligence? We tried to brush off his concerns—tell him he was imagining things, but he was not convinced. Do you suppose he's really the mole? How much information leaked out?"

Amanda glanced at Lee, who was putting on his best agent face, then back at Sarah. "Meaning, he was fishing for information by talking to you? That is something to consider. Good thinking, Sweetheart."

Sarah turned to Matt, who had been quiet. "I'm sorry for becoming angry."

"Sarah, please believe me when I say that I had no intention of lying to you or deceiving you about this. Your parents and I wanted to tell you together, in person. I didn't even know about anything until Monday morning. I've been working late the past two nights hoping we would have better news when we did tell you tonight."

Sarah looked at Matt and put a hand on his face briefly. "I understand."

"It just about killed me not to say anything when we talked at lunch yesterday."

"I'm sure. My timing was terrible."

"No. It was perfect. I think I understand how you might be feeling right now." Matt looked at Sarah, then at her parents, willing her to say something.

Sarah read his thoughts and turned to Lee and Amanda, who were casting their own glances at one another. "Matt and I had lunch after my appointment with Dr. Kirby. I don't feel like getting into details right now, but let's just say I'm working on how I handle this stuff."

"Well, if you do feel like going into details sometime, I'm willing to listen, Sweetheart." Amanda put an arm around Sarah's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

Matt got up and reached out a hand to help Sarah to her feet. "How about I walk you up to the apartment?"

"That would be nice." Sarah started to pick up the glasses.

"Just leave them, Sweetheart."

After they walked out the door, Lee turned to Amanda. "What do you suppose that 'handling stuff' was about?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I wonder if it had something to do with the 'I can never be normal' remark she made."

"I noticed that. And there was her anger towards Phillip the other day…"

"Dr. Kirby can help her work it out. I just wish…"

"Don't get started on the 'what ifs,' Amanda. Just having worked at the Agency back in the eighties brought lasting security issues to our family. This is what we do. I remember you saying years ago that you hoped to make the world a safer place for your children. We didn't have Sarah then, but your goal hasn't changed. Sometimes there is a price to pay. I hate having to force that burden on Sarah, but it can't be helped."

Amanda was thoughtful. "And our backgrounds can help her to become a stronger person. Did you see the way Sarah collected herself during our conversation—and thought of the possible solution to our 'mole' issue? I was proud of her attitude—I just hope it's not a brave front."

"I don't think so. It was as if she'd made up her mind to face this head on. Reminded me of you, when you were still learning the ropes. Just when I'd think you might be ready to throw in the towel after a particularly bad case, you'd rally. It was one of the things that endeared you to me—before I was even willing to admit I loved you." Lee stood up and reached out a hand to Amanda to help her up, then went to lock the door and set the alarm while she took the glasses to the kitchen.

"When she said the suspense was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up, I felt like I was talking to you. And that expression. I felt like I was looking at a very young Lee Stetson."

"To be honest, I saw that, too. She is like both of us." Lee went to the kitchen and watched as Amanda started the dishwasher. "And I always knew there was a reason to not like Jeff."

"Oh, Lee." Amanda cast an exasperated look at Lee, then went to the stairs. He switched off the lights and followed her.

In Sarah's apartment, Matt was embracing her. "When I found out about the cartel on Monday, I just wanted to hold you—make sure you were real. And safe." He kissed her hair and caressed her back.

Sarah returned the close embrace. "Does it scare you that they want to hurt you, Matt?" She kissed his chest and rested her head against him.

Matt smiled at the gesture. She had done that once before, when he had given her the cell phone before the Kazakhstan trip. She had been uncertain and upset then, too. He stroked her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Roses. Somehow it was comforting to him.

He knew that he had not answered her. "I am more frightened about what might happen to you, Sarah. I'm not sure you realize what they intend…"

"I can't think that far. I just have to keep them from getting that close."

Matt kissed her hair again. "That's the spirit." He pulled back and cupped her chin so he could look in her eyes. "Let's concentrate on having fun while we can. We won't be careless, but we won't live in fear. Okay?"

Sarah met his gaze. "Okay. You know, you can get me to agree to anything when you look at me like that. You have the most gorgeous eyes."

Matt cleared his throat, forcing unbidden thoughts from his mind. _Perhaps someday, Granger. Self-control, Man_. He decided to change the subject. "So, where's that dress?"

Sarah tried to pull away. "Oh no. I take it back. I should have said I could agree to just about anything. I'm not telling."

Matt held her fast and grinned. "You know, we've been in this position before. You don't stand a chance."

"You were holding my hands at my sides and I was facing away from you. And I'm not telling." Sarah playfully turned her face away.

Matt laughed lightly and kissed Sarah's cheek, relaxing his hold on her. He moved his lips towards her mouth. Sarah turned towards him and kissed him back. Finally he released her.

"Time to follow through on that self-control thing."

"Yes." Sarah reached up to touch Matt's face.

"I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, too, Matt."

They kissed again briefly before Matt slipped out the door.

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Lee and Amanda watched from the monitor next door as Francine talked with Jeff in the interrogation room. Amanda stood poised at the door, waiting for the opportunity to join in the conversation. They had worked out a plan of sorts.

"Was it really necessary to bring him down here? What if he starts singing like a bird about the Agency, too?"

"Lee, he has no idea where he is. We could be any law enforcement bureau—or the State Department, for that matter. That's why we used the guest elevator."

The "guest" elevator stopped at two levels, the Georgetown entrance and the unmarked hallways of the interrogation section. Unknowing visitors could be fooled into thinking that they were at an International Federal Film—IFF—facility, while still being kept securely away from sensitive areas.

Lee knew better than to think Jeff would guess where he was, but he was chafing at the long wait, and growing irritable.

Inside the room, Jeff was watching Francine with interest. He had seen her at a few of the rare Stetson family occasions Sarah had managed to talk him into attending. He was not one to enjoy group gatherings, and Sarah's mixed family made him feel somewhat ill at ease. Francine was one of the reasons. He found it hard to believe she was a filmmaker—and today he was certain his suspicions had been correct. _I'm glad Sarah broke it off with me. She's from a family of spooks_.

"So Jeff, you haven't answered me. Was that all you said to this Jorge?"

"I think I need a lawyer."

"Listen, Jeff." Francine got up and walked around the table. Jeff guessed that she had to be in her late fifties, but she was still attractive and glamorous. Her tailored skirt accentuated her curves and he could not help noticing as she leaned forward that her blouse fell open just enough to tease him. _She's old enough to be my mother. But my mother doesn't look like this…_

"I think you know that I'm not a filmmaker." Francine sat down next to Jeff and crossed her legs. "But I think you should know that I don't have to get a lawyer for you. And if you start asking questions when you leave here, you won't get anywhere. So let's just concentrate on giving me the information I'm asking for, okay?"

Amanda smirked as she watched her husband. "She even has your attention, Scarecrow."

Lee, who had stood transfixed at Francine's latest maneuver, quickly looked over at his wife. "I was just watching to see how Jeff reacted."

"It looks like she's unnerved more than one male around here."

"Don't exaggerate. You know I only have eyes for you."

Amanda raised her eyebrows, but did not say anything. She reached over and patted Lee's arm. "I'm only teasing, Lee." Amanda focused her attention back on Jeff, who was getting more tongue-tied by the minute. She waited until he started to fidget, then walked over to the door of the room.

Lee watched with something akin to amusement as Amanda smoothed her skirt and her hair, then picked up the water bottle from the table nearby. _This is the fun part_, he thought to himself.

Jeff felt like he wanted to crawl out of his skin. Francine was a beautiful woman—despite her age—but he had never encountered anyone like her. He scooted his chair back a few inches as she leaned towards him.

"So, what gave you the idea the Stetsons were "spooks," as you call it, Jeff?"

Just then the door opened, and Amanda walked in. Jeff heaved a sigh of relief at the familiar face. He knew Lee didn't like him, but he was fairly certain Amanda was a friend.

"Hello, Jeff." Amanda smiled sweetly at Jeff, then looked over at Francine. "Mrs. Beaman, I think we've harassed Jeff enough for one day. Let's give this poor young man a break."

Francine stood up and walked over to Amanda. Jeff watched as her persona changed from cougar to house cat. "I was just getting him to talk," she hissed. "Why did you have to come in now?"

Amanda gave Francine a look out of the corner of her eye and smiled over at Jeff. "Why don't you get some coffee?" she asked sweetly.

"Fine," Francine huffed out loud, but gave Amanda a quick wink before flouncing out the door, letting it slam behind her.

Amanda sat down across from Jeff and handed him the water bottle. "I'm sorry about Francine. I'm sure this is all overwhelming for you."

"Yeah. Listen, I have my classes to teach this evening. How long will I be here?"

"I'm not sure." Amanda smiled at Jeff uncertainly. "I tried to talk with a few people. I don't know why you were brought here in the first place."

Jeff looked at Amanda for a moment. He started to speak, then hesitated. Suddenly, he blurted out, "I still love your daughter, you know."

In the next room, Lee and Francine watched together. "Here we go," she said.

Grimacing, Lee ran his hand through his hair.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Matt walked into the bullpen and set the grocery bag down on his desk. Glancing around the room, he saw he was the first one there once again. After he organized the protein bars, nuts, and other food in his drawer, he looked up just in time to see Lee and Amanda walk through the doors.

After they exchanged greetings, Lee pointed at the conference room and mouthed, "You and me, in twenty minutes."

Matt nodded, then turned to his computer. He tried to ignore the uneasy feeling growing in his stomach. Although he and Lee's relationship had gone from strained "chief and freshman agent" interactions to an easy friendship in the last few months, he still felt intimidated by the veteran operative at times.

_You're just tired, Granger. You haven't been sleeping well, and you woke up too early again this morning._

Jamie had found nothing in the phone records to link any of the agents to the cartel. Frustrated at the lack of success examining surveillance footage of the Agency, Phillip had sent Matt and Rene back to the bullpen, saying he would run a program using facial recognition software on surveillance footage from the regional airports, train stations, bus depots, and hotels. Otherwise, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Left with nothing to do at the Agency the previous afternoon, Rene and Matt had gone to run surveillance in the warehouse district—and enlist the services of George, Rene's retired police detective friend, again.

Matt scanned the intelligence community chatter and checked his emails. Once done, he sighed and looked at his desk. He had nothing to do, and it irked him. He considered going to Francine to beg for some kind of assignment, but when he glanced through her windows, he could see that she was engaged in some kind of discussion with the Stetsons and decided to wait.

He had just finished sending a text to Sarah when Lee came striding out of Francine's office, a memory stick in his hand. Lee motioned to Matt, who followed him into the conference room. Lee shut the door after him.

"What's up?"

"You probably know we interviewed Jeff yesterday."

"Yes."

Lee busied himself turning on the computer and inserting the memory stick. "I thought you might like to listen to the recording before our meeting. I have to hand it to Amanda and Francine. They still make quite a team when it comes to interrogation."

Lee watched Matt's face cloud over. "Why do I want to watch this interview ahead of time?"

"Well, he was Sarah's old boyfriend—just listen to the interview."

Lee played the portion with Francine's manipulations at double speed, then slowed the recording when Amanda walked in the room, sat down, and handed Jeff the bottle of water. The audio came back on just as Jeff began to speak.

"I still love your daughter, you know."

Matt frowned. "Is this really necessary?"

"Keep listening."

At Amanda's understanding expression, Jeff had felt compelled to continue. "I'm worried about her, Amanda. I've seen her with her new boyfriend a couple of times, and I can tell I have no chance with her anymore. But, do you think it's wise for her to get so involved with someone she's barely known for a few months?"

Before Matt could say anything, Lee put a hand on his shoulder. "Just listen."

Amanda sat back in her chair. "I wasn't aware she was seeing anyone."

"And here I thought you two were really close. I'm sorry to be breaking this to you."

"I guess there's another good reason I came to check on you just now. I guess this must have been hard for you—are you really sure she's seeing someone?"

"Well, I had seen her with the guy a couple of times, like I said. Then I met someone at the cafeteria. We ate lunch a few times, and he asked questions about my department and what I do there. I mentioned that I work with some of the graduate students, and Jorge was really interested. He asked if I knew Sarah."

Matt leaned forward as Jeff continued on the recording. "The guy seemed pretty nice—harmless, really. I went ahead and told him that we had been friends. I wasn't about to tell him that we had nearly gotten married. A little too personal, you know?"

Although Matt knew Sarah's side of the story—she had never truly loved Jeff and could not have married him—he still felt a surge of jealousy at Jeff's words. He so distracted that he almost missed Lee's comment.

"You didn't want to admit you'd been dumped, loser," Lee muttered under his breath as he pulled out a chair and sat down noisily.

Matt shot a surprised look Lee's way. When Lee just raised his eyebrows and looked back at the screen, Matt grinned to himself.

"Jorge said that his friend had been seeing Sarah—that they had become lovers." Matt squirmed in his seat at this, but he was relieved to see no reaction from Lee. "He seemed so concerned about his friend—I think he said his name was Matt—that I felt like I should help him out."

"How do you mean, Jeff?"

"Well, we both know what a sweet girl Sarah is. But I'm going to be honest. Your connections, whatever they are, are a little unnerving."

"Oh." Amanda sighed and looked down in apology. "I can see that, especially after how you've been treated today."

"Yeah. I know that you've always been kind to me, Amanda, but sometimes your husband is a little intimidating."

Matt hid a smile with his hand when Lee growled, "Damn right."

"So you told Jorge that we worked for IFF?"

"Actually, I told him that you said you worked for IFF, but that I suspected IFF was a cover for something else. Let's be honest. You guys just don't talk like film people."

"Jeff, did you say this man that Sarah is seeing is named Matt?"

"Yes. Matt Granger."

"How does Jorge know him?"

"They became friends at the gym. I've seen Matt. He looks like one of those body builder types. Jorge isn't like that, but I guess they've hung out."

"And Jorge told you about Matt? Is that how you found out his name?"

"Yes. Like I told you—Jorge was hoping to help Matt."

Lee reached over and pressed the stop button.

Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Lee, I think you should know that Sarah and I…"

Lee put up a hand. "Matt, if you're talking about the 'lover' reference, forget it. I know my daughter pretty well. I'm guessing the guy was talking out of turn, from what Sarah's told Amanda and from what I've seen. The question I have is: are you willing to sit in a room full of people and have them hear this?"

"I guess I can handle it. I just hate seeing our personal lives becoming a topic of discussion in a case."

"Well, Son, if it's any consolation, the majority of the people in the room have felt the same way at one time or another."

"I guess it helps to know that. So, what did you do with Jeff after the interview, anyway?"

"We let him go. Efraim is already on campus, keeping an eye on Jeff. If need be, he'll befriend Jeff and try to get a visual ID of Jorge. As much as I'd love to pin Jeff to the wall and tell him to keep his trap shut about my daughter and our family, it might backfire. For now, we can use Jeff to find Jorge."

Matt looked off into space for a moment, then back at Lee. "How did Jorge know my name?"

"That's a good question. And that's why we are going to step up our investigation. There has to be someone here at the Agency. We think this whole thing with Jeff was meant to divert our attention from the real mole."

"Just when I was starting to think I was going to go nuts out of boredom and frustration. What do we do?"

"Come to the meeting later and we'll figure it out."


	5. Chapter 5

Despite what Lee had said before the meeting on Friday, things moved slowly with the search for the mole. At some point, the team agreed, they might have to use Matt and Sarah as bait to find the mole and take out the remaining members of the cartel. The waiting game had continued. By that afternoon, Francine and Rene had no trouble convincing Matt to leave the office early.

"Don't even think about the Agency all weekend, Granger. You're wound up like a top. You'll be no help to the investigation and useless to Sarah if you don't take it down a notch."

Francine's blunt order had resonated with Rene. "She's right, Man. Get out of here. I'll see you for dinner. And no shop talk. Okay?"

Now it was Saturday, and Matt had done his best the entire day to put the case from his mind. They had ridden the horses, Pilgrim and Panda, that morning. This time they went for two hours, following the path that ventured up and down the slopes near the creek behind the farm. Allowing the horses to amble along at a leisurely pace, Matt at found the quiet tinkling sound of the trickling stream and the effects of the soft, dappled light filtering through the trees to be relaxing. Afterwards they had brought a picnic lunch to Sarah's—and now Matt's—favorite spot.

Matt sat cross-legged on the rock, looking out across the valley that extended from the ridge above the Stetsons' cabin. Sarah lay with her head in his lap, her eyes closed. He stroked her hair absent-mindedly.

Sarah spoke sleepily. "A penny for your thoughts."

"Your hair is soft."

Sarah laughed. "There has to be more going on in there than that."

"Not much."

Sarah turned her head and opened her eyes so she could look out across the valley. "It was nice getting to know Patti and Rene better last night. Maybe we can have them over to my apartment or yours sometime soon."

"That would be a great idea." Matt hoped it could happen. He forced himself not to think about the cartel.

"Patti and I talked about some things…"

"Yeah?"

"How it's not easy wondering what might happen to Rene. She said something happened not long ago—you both were involved. Rene was pretty worried about you, but she had freaked out about Rene. Mom and Daddy were there."

"Rene was shot, but he was wearing a vest. I thought he'd been killed at first."

Sarah did not say anything for a few minutes. She looked out across the valley, studying the trees, while Matt resumed stroking her hair. "You didn't have to tell me that. Patti didn't give details."

"I had never intended to tell you. This is all highly classified because of who did the shooting."

"It was the cartel, wasn't it? Is that how this started? Are they trying to kill you because of what happened that day?"

"Sarah, you can't tell anyone that we've had this conversation. But I feel that you have a right to know. And I can't conceive of any reason why it would change the outcome of the case or endanger you any further than you are already."

"But why me?"

"Because they play sick games with people. They associated you with me, and figured out who your parents were."

"What did they do to you, Matt?"

"They kicked me around pretty good. I couldn't fight back because they were holding guns on us—but they shot Rene anyway."

"They didn't have guns with them at the church."

"No…"

"That's why you've helped with my self-defense and the weight training. So I can fight back."

"Yes."

"Matt, from what Patti said, that was the same day you came to dance class for the first time. Is that true? Did you really come dancing with me that same night? Patti said you'd had a CT scan, it was that bad."

"There was this girl I was falling for. I really needed to impress her. And it was just a few bruises."

"Oh, Matt…" Sarah started to interrupt, but Matt placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Please let me finish. I'm so glad I went Sarah. I told you that at the time, and I meant it. If you think about it, it would have delayed everything with our relationship if I hadn't gone with you that night. Your parents were getting ready to leave town. Before the class, I was ready to break things off—I thought I was causing you to cheat on Jeff. After the class—after you told me that you had broken up with Jeff—I knew I could pursue a relationship with you. And it was important that I had your parents' blessing."

"You mean Daddy's. My mom already knew you were a pretty special guy—she was so happy when we started dating. She told me that when we went shopping the other day." Sarah took the hand that now rested on her shoulder and grasped it in her own. "You've been dealing with this whole cartel thing longer than I have."

"I've had threats before. Not just at the Agency."

"Oh."

Matt pulled Sarah's hand to his face and kissed it. "Listen to the birds. They never stop singing."

"Unless there is danger."

"But only when it's nearby. The rest of the time the predators are out there somewhere, but the birds go on with their lives, singing their songs…"

"Having fun. Riding horses. Today has been so nice."

"Yeah—it has. Do you remember the verse from last week—'God is our refuge and strength…'"

"'…a very present help in trouble.' I memorized that one because I liked it so much. The Psalms are comforting, aren't they?"

"Yes. And Jesus talked about how He cares for even the small sparrow. If God can take care of the birds, Sarah, He can take care of us."

"Yes." Sarah was quiet for a minute before she spoke again. "I think I see a couple of trees starting to change. They're over to the west. Around nine o'clock."

Matt hesitated, searching the ridge opposite them until he saw the hints of gold in the midst of the green. "I see them, too. I wonder if we'll have an early winter."

"Maybe. The colors are usually at their peak in late October. It's only the beginning of September."

"We'll have to keep coming back and checking their progress."

"I'd like that. Maybe in a few weeks…"

Matt noted the long shadows reaching towards the rock and stirred. "For today, it's getting late. We should head back to D.C. You get to choose the restaurant."

"And maybe we'll have time for a little dancing?"

"I was hoping so…"

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

"Diego, you are being too slow to act. We are going to lose our chance. We'll have to find another way to win Gutierrez's trust." Marcelo drained the last of his beer and looked around for his favorite waitress. Frustrated that she had avoided his advances, he was determined to corner her. _If I can just get her to the back of the restaurant…_

"Marcelo, you are impetuous. The Stetson girl may be distracted with her work, but her lover and her parents are hovering around her like hawks. We wait until they are weary."

"The streets are deserted at night near the museum. It is perfect."

"Yes, and she walks out with several people—always just as he drives up in his very fast car. Our chances of grabbing her successfully are too low."

"Diego is right, Marcelo. The girl can run—if we separate her from Granger, all she has to do is get inside the Metro and there will be cops. I was almost arrested the night I chased her."

"Luis, you are just angry that a girl outran you."

"We will get them when they are both alone, away from the car. When the timing is right. I agree with Diego." At the menacing tone of Piedro's voice, the other three men grew silent. "And I will be the one who kills the dog Granger."

Julia Garcia listened through her earpiece, waiting for a break in the conversation. She remembered her earlier argument with Carlos. With things heating up in the case, he had told her it was safer to wait in the van. But she would have none of it. "Carlos, I can do a better job monitoring things from inside the restaurant. I don't trust our equipment." _That's the problem with making friends in this line of work. They start coddling you._

Carlos sat in his usual spot in the booth just outside the backroom. Soon the meeting would break up. He needed to leave before they saw him. Carlos took one last swig of his beer and stood, leaving a couple of one hundred peso notes for his meal. Smiling to himself at his generous tip, he knew that Julia would tease him later.

As Carlos made his way to the back exit, Julia passed him. At the sight of her, a sudden feeling of panic nearly overcame him; he considered grabbing her arm and forcing her to leave, but resisted the urge. It was critical that the cartel members not learn who they were.

After taking a roundabout route to the van, Carlos greeted the driver and settled the headphones on his head. He listened for a moment, then left the van in a rush. "That a- Marcelo is after Julia. Be ready to roll, Ruiz," he tossed over his shoulder.

He felt the bile rise in his throat as he neared the back entrance of the restaurant. He could hear the sounds of a scuffle, and a woman crying out in pain. _Julia._ He pulled his gun and slipped inside the doorway. His eyes did not have time to adjust to the light as he followed the sounds to a small room nearby. Oblivious to Carlos's approach, Marcelo had pinned Julia to the wall with a knife to her throat, while his other hand pulled at her skirt. Blood trickled from her mouth, and even in the faint light, Carlos could see her blouse was torn. In a sudden rage, Carlos raised the butt of his gun and slammed it against the side of Marcelo's head.

There was no time to comfort Julia. With their cover nearly blown, Carlos knew he had only seconds before the other cartel members might find them. Taking Julia by the arm, he propelled her into the alley and straight to the van, where Ruiz was now gunning the engine.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Lee ran his hand through his hair and looked over at Matt, who had become increasingly tense and on edge the last few days. Lee could see the signs of strain around his eyes. _He reminds me of myself when Amanda was kidnapped by Birol the first time. The poor kid needs a pep talk_.

"Lee, were you listening?"

"Sorry, Francine. My mind was elsewhere."

Francine had seen Lee looking at Matt. She was fairly certain what had distracted Lee—she had not forgotten about the original Birol kidnapping either and she had been watching Matt, too. She sighed. "No problem. We were just saying that we need to give Rene and Matt an assignment—even if it isn't real. Other than checking on George, they are just performing busy work. The level of secrecy surrounding this case has already created some suspicion. We need to distract the mole. Make him or her think we are not worried about them."

"That's an excellent idea…"

Amanda spoke up. "Why not have them right where they need to be most? Is there some way we could create an additional security need for the opening at the International Spy Museum?"

"Great idea, Amanda." Lee shot an approving glance over to his wife. "We could pretend one of our old enemies has made a threat. Why not step up security for the event?"

"With our luck, there still could be an additional threat, anyway." Francine directed her remarks to Matt and Rene. "DHS has already set up a team for the event, but we could request that two of our men work as liaisons."

Matt's hand shot up to interrupt. "Francine, they already know Rene and me there. It might be better if we simply showed up as Sarah's friends. They have a crew of people there working overtime to get the exhibit ready. Of course you could still tell DHS who we are—but that we are there undercover."

"Sounds like a great idea. As long as Sarah can sell it to her director. Matt, please see what you can set up—start this evening, if you can. For now Rene, could you please give us the latest from George?"

Matt watched as Rene sat up straight and began to speak. He half-listened as his mind went back to their rendezvous with George at the park near the Agency. George had taken the time to change out of his homeless costume and shower. Matt had not seen him cleaned up before. Without his usual hat, George's gray hair was visible and he looked like a stereotypical ex-cop with his clean-shaven face and short hair. Matt noted that despite the older man's age, he appeared to be in prime physical shape. _That's probably why he's willing to risk being on his own in the seamier parts of D.C._

"I guess your pretty boy partner is here to stay?"

"Give the guy a break, George. He's put in a few years in this business already. You don't have to treat him like a newbie. Besides, this is personal."

George looked at Matt sharply. "Well then. You might be glad to know I've heard something."

Matt had been leaning against the back of a bench. He glanced around the park and towards the rooftops of the buildings across the street before taking a couple of steps towards George. "You alerted Rene, so we came. What have you heard? And why were things too 'hot' to meet at our usual spot?"

"So, you do talk." George offered Matt the semblance of a smile before continuing. "I couldn't chance being seen with you two again. Once was probably too many times—three would have been crazy." I heard the name Jorge this morning. There are a few around here, but this one seemed to have out of town connections. He hasn't been seen in a month or two, though."

"How did his name come up?"

"I was in the alley behind the bar where they met last time. The manager stepped outside to take a call—around eleven in the morning. Someone was asking questions. It sounded like they wanted to know if the manager had talked to the feds. He denied it up and down, calling the guy Jorge."

"This is a really big help, George. Thanks." Rene jotted down the name of the bar, then handed the usual bills to George before grabbing Matt's arm and steering him back towards the Agency.

"You realize, Granger, that this is our first decent lead in a while? The person calling that manager could be the mole. We just need the manager's name and we can check his phone records."

In the meeting at the Agency, Matt forced himself to pay attention once again.

"Jamie, here's the name of the bar. This is the same place where they met with the Kazakhs."

As Jamie busied himself on his laptop searching for the name of the manager and accessing his cell phone records, Matt got up from the table. He needed some fresh air. The team had found a conference room on a floor away from the activity of the bullpen and the watchful glances of the other field agents, so he felt safe leaning up against the wall in the hallway. After texting Sarah to ask her about helping with the exhibit, he closed his eyes and thought back to the evening before.

While the dancing had been a welcome physical release from the strain that was constantly weighing upon him, having to make himself appear jovial with their friends had brought back all the tension. Sensing Matt's mood, Sarah had been quiet in the car on the way back to her apartment.

Once inside, she finally confronted Matt. "You've been so on edge this evening. Did I do something wrong?"

Matt ran his hand through his hair and sat down on the couch. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I always love dancing with you—and tonight was no exception. In fact, I probably enjoyed it more than ever."

Sarah sat down beside him. "You held me so tightly. But then you were so distant at the coffee house."

"I guess I have a lot on my mind. I didn't mean to ruin the evening."

"I'm probably the only one that noticed."

Matt looked at Sarah. He wanted so badly to share his frustrations with someone. _But I can't drag her down with me. I need to be strong for her._

Sarah put her hand on his face. The simple gesture had been so comforting. "You look like you're carrying the weight of the world. What can I do?"

"Just let me hold you."

Sarah reached for Matt, who pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"It's this thing with the cartel, isn't it?"

Matt was silent for a few moments before answering her. "Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just want to forget about everything for a little while. When I'm holding you, I can do that."

"Remember that His eye is on the sparrow, Matt." Sarah kissed Matt on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. He relaxed against the back of the couch as he breathed in the scent of her hair, drawing comfort from the fragrance of roses that seemed to belong uniquely to Sarah—and from her gentle reminder. Matt thought perhaps a half hour went by before he finally forced himself to leave. _At least I slept a little better after that. Better than I did the night before. Oh God, I want to leave this in Your hands. I just can't._

Matt was startled from his reverie by a light touch on his shoulder.

"A penny for your thoughts."

"You must think I'm one lousy agent, letting you sneak up on me like that."

"That wasn't what you were thinking about. And I've been told by one of the finest agents in the business that I'm an expert at sneaking up on people. Don't feel bad." Lee grinned at Matt and raised his eyebrows.

Matt couldn't help but laugh. "You know, your daughter says that—a penny for your thoughts—a lot. I guess she gets that from you."

"Agent Granger, you are avoiding the question." Lee stood there, looking at Matt expectantly.

"Okay, I give. I was thinking about Sarah. I'm trying to keep things cheerful for her, but I failed miserably after dance class last night. She wants me to talk about things with her. But I'll just give her nightmares. She already has enough of those." Matt looked up at Lee nervously. "From what she tells me."

"Granger, I know you don't spend the night. Give that whole thing a rest."

Matt looked at Lee. He could feel that nagging pain in his stomach forming again. _Just tell him, Granger._ He turned his face away, then blurted out, "I almost wish I could spend the night—at least just be with her. I hate leaving Sarah. I'm afraid it might be the last time we see one another. I have dreams about the cartel grabbing her, hurting her. It's worse since we heard about Agent Garcia. You know I'm a praying man, but I just get so wound up not being able to talk to someone." Matt ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Lee watched Matt's struggle. With a start, he realized he felt a compassion for Matt like a father would for his son. "You don't have to do this alone, Matt. You can talk to Amanda and me. I'm right here."

"You have enough to think about with the investigation. And I can't imagine what it must be like to worry about losing your daughter."

"Yes, you can. If you love Sarah as much as I think you do. I've been there—and so has Amanda. Hell, you saw me go through it with Birol. I had my share of scrapes, too—poor Amanda put up with quite a lot before she even became an agent. You feel like your gut is twisting up into knots, and you just want to relieve nervous tension. But nothing helps."

"I've been crashing around with the weights at five in the morning. But it doesn't make a difference and I'm likely to get a complaint notice from the apartment manager."

Lee chuckled. "I used to drive Billy nuts. He was the section chief back then. He knew I was in love with Amanda before I even did. I broke more rules and yelled at more people over Amanda's safety. Even Francine figured things out—I would get that wound up at any threat of danger towards Amanda."

"How did you learn to deal with it?"

"I'd like to say it all got better when we were married." Lee decided not bring up their honeymoon. "But not really—at first. I had to trust in something bigger than myself to take care of her. And I had to trust that she could fight back when needed—I needed to have faith in her abilities."

"Sarah isn't an agent."

"No. But she has learned how to fight back, thanks to you."

"I simply helped her with some moves. She learned most of what she knows from you."

"And Leatherneck. He taught her some of the fancy driving."

"And she has great instincts. She can tell when I'm in the room, even when I'm not making a sound. And she can sense when something is off—like last week, when she told Amanda the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up."

Lee chuckled. "That may be genetic."

Amanda opened the door to the conference room and looked down the hallway at the two men. "Jamie may have something." She offered Lee a questioning look, then seeming satisfied, went back in the room.

Matt assumed he had missed part of the interchange. "Thanks, Lee."

"Please feel free to talk anytime. And about the agents in Monterrey. You know things may have gotten too hot for Mendez and Garcia, but she's okay—he got to her in time. Even the bug at the restaurant was undisturbed. And Matt…"

Matt had pushed away from the wall and started walking with Lee back to the conference room. He stopped.

"I was wrong before. You should talk with Sarah. She needs to know how you feel. We should not have worried about how she would take all of this. She's stronger than we give her credit for being."

Back in the conference room, Francine, Amanda, Jamie, and Rene were looking over Phillip's shoulder while he typed in information. Phillip looked up. "Lee. Jamie figured out Jorge's number. I'm working on locating his GPS signal. It's been blocked, but I am close to breaking that code."

Suddenly weary, Matt sank into a chair away from the group. He rested his elbow on the arm of his chair and supported his head with his hand. Amanda walked over to place a hand on his shoulder.

"I've got it!" Phillip clicked a few more buttons and the conference room's screen sprang to life, displaying a map of Washington, D.C. A lone blip was visible not far from the Agency.

"The b-d is right here." Lee sprang out of his chair and started to pace. "Phillip, run a history of that GPS signal."

"I just love this program that DHS sent over. Give me a second." Phillip worked the keyboard for a few moments. "Here you go—this is the past twenty-four hours, for starters."

Amanda went to the table to pick up her notepad so she could jot down the trail.

Phillip continued. "He was at this same location yesterday. It appears to be an apartment complex. Let me speed up the program."

The group watched as the blip soon moved. "This is four p.m. Now remember, if he took the Metro, we may lose signal until he gets close enough to street level to track him." As expected, the blip disappeared. "Metro stop. Wait—here it is again."

Lee quickly put a hand on Amanda's shoulder, then looked over at Matt, who had leaned forward in his chair, his head in his hands.

The blip was in a building across the street from The International Spy Museum.

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Matt and Rene sat at their desks, going over security reviews for the International Spy Museum. After texting back and forth and a quick phone call, Sarah had made arrangements for them to help with the exhibit that evening after the museum closed. The director had been a little dubious, but Sarah had touted their talents and Deb admitted she was desperate for extra hands. No one wanted to work the weekend, and they needed to finish the exhibit by Tuesday so it would be ready for the Wednesday preview by the Smithsonian trustees.

Rene caught Matt's attention. They watched as Lee and Amanda followed Francine into her office. He spoke low, so only Matt could hear. "Something's up, Man. They're meeting alone. They must have left Phillip to make a report on the comings and goings of our friend."

Matt kept an eye on the activity in Francine's office. After receiving a phone call, she spoke to Lee and Amanda. Growing agitated, Lee got up to pace. Amanda rose from her chair and tried to put a hand on his arm. He shook it off, running a hand through his hair. His arms gestured and he appeared to be angry with Francine. Amanda spoke again and Lee stopped. Whatever she said had piqued Francine's interest as well. All three looked over at Matt.

Quickly Matt turned his eyes back at his computer. He glanced at Rene out of the corner of his eye. Rene was typing on his phone. He placed the phone on the corner of his desk closest to Matt, the text unsent. Matt could easily read the message. "My money says the cartel is on the move, and they are arguing about using you and Sarah as bait." Rene reached over and deleted the text without sending it, offering a knowing look to Matt before going back to his computer.

Trying unsuccessfully once again to concentrate on his screen, Matt pulled out his phone and typed out a text to Rene. "Bug's still active and no word. I think J works here. He's the mole. Let's see Phillip b4 we leave." He put the phone down on his desk. "Rene, take a look at this."

Rene got up to look over Matt's shoulder at his computer. Matt put his hand by his phone.

"You're right, Matt. It's worth looking into. We'll set up a meet with the people in charge. And hey Man, don't forget we have that meeting soon."

Matt replied as he deleted the unsent text. "That's right. Before I go pick up Sarah." He busied himself with the security review once again.

Neither Matt nor Rene noticed the other agent covertly watching their actions from across the room.

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Despite their curiosity, both Matt and Rene waited until the Stetsons left Francine's office before they went to Phillip's department. Ever careful of the mole, they backtracked using another elevator to get to Phillip's office.

Phillip looked up at them as they walked up to his open office door. "I expect you two want a full report. Come in and shut the door." After Matt and Rene complied and sat down, Phillip turned his display so they all could see it. "In a nutshell, the guy stays in this building across from the museum for a few hours, then leaves after you pick Sarah up, Matt. That's his pattern for the last several days."

"What about earlier in the day? Where else does he go?" Matt was leaning forward, watching the blip as Phillip sped up its movement. "Okay, that looks like the same location as before—the apartment, right?"

"Yep. It stays there all night. Then, around eight o'clock, it leaves."

Matt and Rene watched as the blip moved out into Georgetown. They spoke simultaneously. "Jorge is the mole. He's at the Agency."

"Is there any chance we made a disconnect somewhere?" Matt looked off into space, not really directing his question to either man.

"Matt, what more do we need? We just need to figure out who it is, now."

Rene looked at Matt. "The chances are slim that George heard incorrectly, and still directed us to a cell phone that would track someone to the Agency."

"Yeah. I guess I just needed a sanity check." Matt stared off into space again for a moment. "You know, Rene. This all started at the op when we first encountered the cartel. Have you ever thought it was strange how no one noticed them sneaking up on us until they heard the commotion over our mics?"

Phillip grew a little defensive. "We didn't have a camera trained on you. We had them trained on the Kazakhs."

"But with all of those agents, someone should have noticed them creeping up on us. Right?" Matt looked first at Rene, then Phillip.

Phillip stared up at the ceiling, musing out loud. "Well, you two were out of sight—along with the other agents. In fact, if I remember correctly, you had to tell Chang to do a better job of hiding. After we figured out the cartel had come after you, Gonzales aimed his camera at your rooftop. We could see the cartel and Rene at that point. Johnson was able to take one of them out with a sniper. It is possible they were crouching when they snuck up on you."

"Which means they knew the other agents were there." Rene stood up and smacked the back of his chair. "God, why didn't anyone question this before?"

Matt put a hand up. "Rene, we figured they had spotted us from the street when we were setting up."

"Not you and me. You get after me—it's your Afghanistan training." At Phillip's questioning look, Rene said, "He was part of an op that went down badly because they were spotted moving in."

"Call it paranoia, but I don't want to get caught like that again."

"So, we always stake out our surveillance spots before we actually do our surveillance. But if we're not in charge…" Rene sat back down.

"Got it. You are at the mercy of your senior agents—most of whom have only worked in non-combat situations." Phillip started typing at his other computer. "I'm going to pull up the footage from that day."

Soon Phillip was playing the recording he had made. Manny Gonzales was the agent doing most of the talking. Although he had seen the footage before, Matt grimaced as he watched the cartel member shoot Rene.

"Notice how Johnson immediately takes out the shooter. Too bad he wasn't an instant sooner." Phillip stopped the playback. "So for the sake of argument, we could say it was Johnson, because he delayed shooting."

"King, I know black guys can have Hispanic names, but I'm not sure he could pull off the Jorge thing. Besides, he reacted pretty quickly. No one expected the guy to really shoot. Even me. The guy might have shot Matt next."

"Scratch him, then. How about Gonzales?"

Matt stood up and paced as he spoke. "These guys were the first ones to come to our aid. In the military, those are the people you trust the most—and at the Agency, I'd like to think it's no different. They had no idea if the cartel would be waiting for them when they got to that stairwell. They just worried about helping us. It was someone else."

"I could start going through photos of the agents and the support personnel, but it would be racial profiling and we don't have evidence." Phillip leaned back in his seat and looked at the other two men. "We'll just have to start looking for clues and hope we find the mole before he makes a move."

"What about the sketch that was made when Jeff came in?"

"We checked it against every known international operative or person of interest except Agency personnel. They guy's face didn't ring a bell, so we didn't think to look." Phillip started typing in commands on his computer.

"The guy had whiskers. He could have been in a disguise." Rene looked over at Matt.

"And worn some kind of prosthesis on his face to alter his appearance—you can cover the edges with fake facial hair." At Rene's look, Matt added, "I know that sounds outlandish, but it's a nice trick for American operatives in Muslim countries."

"I'm not going to ask."

Matt just raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, I've pulled up the artist's sketch, and I'm running a program that can detect facial similarities like eyes and mouths. I'm comparing it to the ID photos for all Agency personnel, including civilians. It's going to take a while. And it's a long shot."

Matt looked at his watch. "Rene, let's go. We can't be late. Sarah had to pull strings to get us on the crew." He looked at Phillip. "You'll let us know? And tell Francine and your parents?"

"I've got it covered. See you tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah stole another glance at Matt. He was intent on his driving, and she was not sure how to read his mood. "You and Rene did a great job of fitting right in this evening, Matt. I know you were there to keep an eye on me, but it was really nice to have your help."

Matt glanced over at Sarah, then back at the road. He took her hand. "You've been working so hard, and not sleeping well. It was a good solution. Maybe you won't have to go in over the weekend now."

"My mom said she'd leave dinner for us. Do you want to come up, or do you need to get home?"

"Sarah, it's me. Of course I'll come up and have dinner with you. It was sweet of your mom to think of both of us."

Sarah looked down. She forced her voice to remain steady, but her lower lip was betraying her. "I guess I just wasn't sure. You've been so quiet and tense the last couple of times we've been together."

Matt pulled the Charger onto the Stetson's driveway. With the news about Jorge that afternoon, he was even more nervous than ever over Sarah's safety in public. "I'm sorry, Sarah. Let's talk in your apartment. I don't want to stay out in front here for very long." He helped her from the car and walked with his arm around her to the apartment stairs.

Once inside, Sarah went to the kitchen and found the dinner Amanda had left for them in the oven. She called out to Matt, who was taking off his suit jacket in the living room. "I hope you like meatloaf." She laughed to herself.

Matt walked over and washed his hands at the kitchen sink so he could set the table. "What's funny? I love meatloaf. My sister used to make it for us all the time. It was her favorite. I expect she'll be serving us some while we're visiting in November."

Sarah looked over at Matt, wondering at his slightly curt tone. "Oh, that sounds nice. I know I'm going to like your sisters." She watched as Matt turned around to look at her. "I laughed because my mom knows when to deliver comfort food. It must have been why she offered to bring the dinner over. She always served it when I was having a bad day, during exams, that sort of thing."

"Or when your boyfriend's giving you the cold shoulder and making you cry? I saw you."

At Matt's contrite expression, Sarah's brave front began to fade again. "You aren't giving me the cold shoulder. Last night… Well, what girl wouldn't want to be held on your lap like that?" Sarah laughed a little, then looked down.

Matt reached out to Sarah, and she walked into his arms. "Sarah, I haven't been fair to you. I've been keeping things to myself that I should be sharing with you. Things a couple should be able to talk about."

Sarah tensed. "Like what?"

"Last night you asked if this whole thing with the cartel was getting to me, but I wouldn't open up to you. You've shared with me the things that are really getting to you, but I'm not sharing those kinds of things with you. I was trying to spare you, but I realize that was wrong. I'm so sorry."

Sarah did not move her head from Matt's chest. "I forgive you—I hope you know that. How bad is it?"

"One of the cartel went after a female agent who was keeping tabs on them. We are pretty sure her cover wasn't blown, but what upset me was what the guy was trying to do to her. It scared me, Sarah."

"Is she okay?"

"Her partner got her out of there before it could go very far. Sarah, he had a knife, and he was forcing himself on her. She couldn't fight back—or at least not very easily."

"But she was on a mission, so she had to be in close quarters. I don't have to go into dangerous situations like that."

"That's just it. We found out that the mole has been watching the museum every afternoon. That explains how they know your—our—comings and goings. They know I pick you up in the Charger."

"Oh."

"Sarah, people are arguing about using us as bait to draw the cartel out. I just know they plan to make a move, soon. This mole is just watching us, feeding them information."

Pulling away from Matt, Sarah went about the motions of getting their dinner on the table. Matt watched her for a moment before setting the table. "Sarah, I'm considering it—being the bait. I don't think I can take the pressure anymore of having this hanging over our heads."

Once the dinner was on the table and they had started eating, Sarah finally replied. "The risk is too great, Matt. They went after this girl—whether or not they knew she was Agency. They thought they killed Rene. They beat you terribly. They will kill you if they have the chance. I can't let you do that for me." Sarah fought to keep her voice steady as she continued. "I can't imagine living without you, let alone living with the idea you'd died because of me." She watched for his reaction.

Matt put his fork down and leaned back in his chair, a look of anguish on his face. "I don't know what else to do."

"They could use me as bait."

"Oh, Sarah…"

"Now hear me out. I'm willing to do this if you're willing. I know you're the agent, not me. If we let them hide us away, it could be months or longer before we would be out from under this. At least I have something of a fighting chance because of your help with my hand-to-hand skills." At Matt's frown, Sarah paused. "Sorry for the pun. But it would have to be well-planned, with plenty of back up. And I mean a lot of back up. It might be bad enough they want to take me, but they have talked about killing you."

Matt played with his fork for a minute before replying. "There are four of them. Even if we took out two right away, the mole might be helping in some way. It could go down badly. The chances of them taking you are too high, Sarah. I couldn't live with myself if they got their hands on you and I could have prevented it. Oh, God. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you, no matter what." Sarah watched as Matt ran a trembling hand through his hair. She got up and knelt beside his chair.

"Then we'll pray for another way, Matt. He's watching over us."

Overcome then, Matt pulled Sarah to him as the tears slid down his cheeks. "I love you so much."

Sarah ran her hand over Matt's hair and down to his back before letting it rest there. She kissed his cheek. "I love you, too. So much. Thank you for opening up to me, Matt. For trusting me."

Matt could not find his voice again. He kissed Sarah back and held her close.

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Matt set the box down beside the display where Sarah was working. "This is the last one."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks. I think we'll be able to get out of here early tonight. Deb wants me here bright and early tomorrow so we can go over our notes for the tour. I can go home after the luncheon. I have to be here to answer questions."

"You know, everything looks so impressive. I'm so proud of you, Sarah."

Sarah smiled shyly and blushed a little. "I pulled the things together. The designer made it look nice."

Matt smiled at her. _I love it when she blushes. I haven't seen her do that in so long._ "I know the designer made it look nice. But you found the cool stuff."

"Thank you, Matt. I guess it helps to have connections, if you know what I mean." Having overcome her momentary bashfulness, Sarah winked at him.

At her gesture, Matt found himself sucking in his breath. Recovering, he looked at Sarah closely before she turned away to finish placing the items in the exhibit. The circles under her eyes had gone away and she did not seem as tense as she had last week.

Matt thought back to the weekend. They had stayed close to home except for a run in the park, church on Sunday, and the usual family get-together. He almost felt guilty that some of his tension had disappeared. _Maybe it was the talk with Sarah. It felt so good to get all of that off my chest. Then to go to church on Sunday_. He knew that it had helped Sarah, too. They had stayed longer than usual to have coffee with Cheryl, who gave Matt a plate of muffins and asked motherly questions about Sarah. Then the family get-together had been a nice distraction. They almost had not gone. After Phillip's facial recognition search had been inconclusive, Lee had been ready to send them to the safe house. Amanda and Francine had prevailed, saying there was no imminent danger.

"Better to lure the cartel back to D.C.," said Francine. "I've given up on Efraim finding the mole, or Jorge, or anyone at Georgetown."

"I meant what I said, Francine. Sarah will not be used as bait. Matt's a grown man, an agent. I can't make his decision for him. But Sarah's my daughter."

"She's a grown woman, Lee. Let her decide." Francine looked to Amanda for support.

Amanda only placed a hand on Lee's arm as he continued, "She doesn't know all the risks. She's not a trained agent. Hell, she doesn't carry any kind of weapon except pepper spray. Granger has a gun and a knife. Sometimes two guns. He even brings the knife with him when he runs. But even then, I say he shouldn't put his life on the line, either. It's too dangerous for both of them."

"Lee, no one is forcing the issue about using them as bait. Just don't lock them up in the safe house. They can spend the weekend around Sarah's apartment, or at our house."

Matt finally broke in. "We can't go to Jamie's this weekend. We don't want to endanger the kids."

Jamie's head shot up. "Hold on there. The cartel is still in Monterrey. You guys don't have the plague."

Matt was startled out of his reverie when Sarah put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm done. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'll get Rene. He's waiting for us in the breakroom."

After taking Rene to his car, Matt and Sarah headed to her apartment. As they drove in the commuter traffic into Arlington, he reached for her hand. "You seem to have more energy this week. Are you sleeping better?"

Sarah squeezed his hand and glanced at his face. "You know, I am. It really seemed to lift a weight off my shoulders when you opened up to me last week. I was worried about you—about us. You seem to be feeling better, too."

"Sarah, I'm so sorry I gave you any reason to be worried about us. I can't tell you everything that happens at work, but I should have been telling you more about what was on my mind. You at least deserve to know if something is upsetting me. You're not just my girlfriend. You're my best friend."

"You've become my best friend, too, you know." Sarah paused for a moment. "But what about Rene?"

Matt pulled Sarah's hand to his face to kiss it, glanced over at her, then laughed. "I don't love Rene. I won't tell him everything I want to or need to tell you." Matt grew serious. "It's just not the same telling a guy sometimes." He hesitated, then spoke softly. "It felt so right to just sit and hold you the other night. Then last night, when we talked, it helped a lot. I was so stressed out..." Matt looked out his side window, then back at the road ahead of him.

Sarah squeezed his hand again and did not say anything.

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Sarah sat on a chair in her old bathroom while her mother put the finishing touches on her hair, which she had twisted into a French knot. "Mom, it was really sweet of you to help me with my hair, but you're not going to have time to get yourself ready."

"Nonsense. You have to be there early. Your father and I have an extra hour."

"Where is Daddy, anyway?"

"He's on the computer downstairs. Sort of working, sort of letting us have our girl time up here." Amanda played with another tendril of hair, then stepped back to scrutinize her efforts. "Has Matt seen your dress?"

"No. He's been teasing me about it, but I wanted to surprise him."

"I don't have to ask you if you told him about the wedding dress you tried on."

"Oh Mom! Don't even talk about it. Daddy might hear you and go tell Matt. They're such buddies now. Oh, I'd die if Matt found out."

Amanda chuckled. "It was your idea to try it on, not mine."

"But you showed it to me. You are just as guilty of being presumptuous." Sarah raised her eyebrows at her mother.

"Touche, my dear. But feeling guilty didn't stop me from researching the dress. Do you know that we could order one online? They are in production until spring of next year. Of course we'd need six to eight weeks lead time—but that's pretty quick for a wedding dress. They're always made to order."

Sarah sighed in exasperation. "Mom, I'm feeling really uncomfortable about this. You are starting to sound like Grandma. Who orders a dress before they have an engagement ring? Can we just concentrate on the opening right now?"

"Well, I'll just say you looked stunning in it. And I'm not acting like Grandma."

"Yes, you are. And that's what you said—stunning—about the dress I did buy. The one hanging in the room across the hall. That I'm wearing tonight." Sarah looked pointedly at her mother.

Amanda wisely decided to change the subject. She knew she was acting like Dotty, but the dress had been perfect for Sarah. And Sarah could dish it right back like her grandmother had done. "I can't wait to see you two dancing. Sometimes your father and I can see glimpses of you and Matt through the window, but I've never really seen you dance." She shook the can of hairspray and gave Sarah's hair a generous dose, then waved her hand to clear the air.

"Are you spying, too, now?"

Amanda pursed her lips. "Of course not. I'm just pulling my favorite spy away from the window so you two can have your privacy." She carefully adjusted a few hairs, then stepped back.

Sarah laughed. "I guess it's nice to know that I'm loved and protected."

"Exactly. I'm done here. What do you think?"

Sarah held up the hand mirror and turned in her chair. "It's perfect, Mom. I love it. Thank you." She got up and gingerly gave her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry. I don't want to ruin your hard work."

"Let's go get you into that dress. Jennifer should be here in a minute to take photos, and Matt will be here before you know it."

"Thank you for asking her to come over. Jennifer's portraits are beautiful."

Lee had just climbed the stairs when Sarah came out of her old room, Amanda in tow. He let out a low whistle. "My, you do look lovely, Pumpkin. You'll be the most beautiful woman there, next to your mother."

"Oh, Lee. You and I had better get dressed, or we won't be going. I thought it would be nice to have a photo of the four of us together. Jennifer should be here any minute to take it for us."

Lee let Amanda shoo him into their bedroom. He looked back over his shoulder and winked at Sarah before she went downstairs to answer Jennifer's knock.

Sarah watched at the window while she chatted with Jennifer about the boys. Having taken Seth and David miniature golfing, Jamie was picking Jennifer up soon so she could join them for pizza. Jennifer shared Jamie's love of photography; they met in an amateur photographer's club while completing their master's degrees at the University of Virginia. Now they were the family photographers.

Matt soon pulled up to the curb. Sarah checked herself in the mirror in the entryway one last time and opened the front door. Jennifer ducked into the den so she could give them a little privacy.

As if by mutual agreement, they smiled at one another, but waited until Matt was inside the house before they said anything. Taking care not to mess her dress while he was holding a bouquet of flowers in each hand, Matt leaned in for a kiss. "Sarah, you look so lovely." He stepped back and admired her once again as she twirled around for his benefit. He did not fail to notice the bare shoulder and the way the dress fit Sarah's slender figure so perfectly. Sucking in his breath, he stepped closer to her again and whispered in her ear. "You know, I love that color on you. And you make that dress look amazing."

Sarah smiled. "Your mother is a saint. She trained you well."

Matt chuckled softly. "Please give the honor to my father. He complimented my mother in front of us kids many a time while we were growing up. But seriously, you look just beautiful."

"Thank you. You look very handsome, tonight—as you always do." Sarah fingered the lapel of his jacket. "And this is a very nice tuxedo."

"Thanks. You know, I think there's something in my right jacket pocket—do you see it?" Matt's eyes twinkled as he watched Sarah retrieve a small, velvet-covered jewelry box.

She looked quizzically at Matt. _Certainly he's not meaning to propose like this. What is it?_

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" His eyes still twinkled at her.

Sarah looked down at the box and carefully opened it. Nestled in the satin lining of the box was a pair of earrings—sapphires surrounded by diamonds in a floral pattern. "Oh, they're just lovely," she breathed. Looking up at Matt, she spoke quietly. "But it's too generous."

"Now Sarah, I wanted to get you a special gift for a special occasion. This is an important evening for you. And it's also the four-month anniversary of the day we met."

Sarah looked into Matt's eyes and could see that it meant as much to Matt to give her the gift as it did for her to receive it. She reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "I was wondering if you remembered what day it was." She smiled at him, then went to the mirror to change her earrings. "Thank you so much. They are beautiful. I've always wished I could have some kind of sapphire jewelry."

"I have to confess that I sneaked behind your back and asked your mom if the color would go with your dress. I just love it when you wear blue, so I'm glad it worked out."

"Aha. There was a reason you pestered me to get a look at this dress. And do you know that just now my mom played dumb and asked me if you had seen the dress yet? She's a sneak, too." After admiring the earrings in the mirror, Sarah turned back to Matt. "What do you think?"

"Come closer so I can see better." Sarah took a step towards Matt. "You make them look lovely." He looked in her eyes before offering her a gentle kiss on the lips.

He stepped back again and held out the bouquets to Sarah. "These are for you and your mother."

"Oh, they're beautiful." Sarah hesitated when she heard her parents on the stairs.

"Granger! You clean up nicely. I guess you'll make a suitable escort for my daughter."

"Thanks, Lee. I could say you clean up nicely yourself."

Jennifer walked in to greet Matt just as he handed Amanda her bouquet of flowers.

Amanda hugged Matt. "Thank you for the beautiful flowers." She took a moment to admire them. "I need to find out the name of this florist, Matt. They have such lovely choices." She ignored Sarah rolling her eyes at the not-so-subtle allusion to wedding planning and continued, "Come into the kitchen, Sarah, and we'll put them in water."

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Piedro tossed the crust of his pizza slice into the empty box on the coffee table and put his feet up. On the couch opposite him, Luis was polishing his knife, while Diego fiddled with his open laptop. His brother, Marcelo, slouched in a chair near Piedro's.

"Jorge has probably been made. Just like we were probably made in Monterrey. If it hadn't been for that b-, we would not have had to find another place to hide out."

"Marcelo, if you had not gone after that girl, you would not have been knocked out. I think you are low to chase after women the way you do, but if you hadn't been caught with her, Jorge might not have told us to check for bugs. We might have been arrested."

"I'm so glad I could nearly have my head caved in for the cause, Diego."

"Like I said, you got what you had coming to you."

Marcelo started to pull out his knife, but Piedro stopped him. "Don't be hot-headed, Marcelo. Diego is right. Besides, you would not kill your own brother."

"I don't have to kill Diego to send him a message. My brother needs to be put in his place."

"Marcelo, I am tired of your stupid talk. Shut up or you will get another concussion." Piedro offered Marcelo a look of disgust before he turned to Diego.

"Is it true that Jorge has probably been made?"

"He doesn't know for certain."

"Will he have the GPS for us? Can he get us a van and do the driving? We need someone who knows the area so we can get her to the airport once we have her."

"He's got it all under control. I think he's anxious to disappear with us. Piedro, I think Gutierrez has offered him a job."

"Let's hope we are successful and will get on Gutierrez's good side, too. Where do we grab her?"

"They go for a run every Saturday."

"Are they stupid enough to do that, knowing we plan to come after her? They must know we want to kill Granger."

"They don't know we are here. Americans value their freedom, Piedro. They don't like to stay locked up."

"So, we just need to know where and when."

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Matt pulled Sarah in close, but found his mind wandering as they danced. It had been nice to forget things for the evening. Even though he squirmed under all the praise, he had to admit he enjoyed the little pre-event gathering at the Stetsons. He found himself speaking out loud to Sarah.

"It's sweet how your family made a big deal out of this evening for you. I was flattered your parents wanted a photo of the four of us."

"You mean a lot to them, Matt. I think they are really happy about us. Thanks for being such a good sport about all the compliments and thank yous and all that. I know you start to feel uncomfortable."

"Yeah, but I have to admit it's kind of nice. Your dad sure has warmed up to me. Although he still keeps his eye on us."

"Once a spy…"

"Always a spy." They both laughed, then grew quiet as the dance continued.

As they waltzed about the floor, Matt found himself marking all of the agents in the museum's restaurant-turned-ballroom, as he had been doing all evening. Rene had been assigned to valet duty. Matt almost laughed out loud to himself when he remembered the delighted expression on his partner's face as he and Sarah had driven up.

"Nice, Granger. I can take your new car out for a spin. Ever seen _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_? I hope you don't mind a few extra miles on the odometer. How fast does it go again on the straightaways?"

"Not as fast as your head is going to roll if there is so much as one little ding on it when I get it back."

Rene grinned at Sarah as Matt placed his hand on her back and guided her inside the museum.

Matt's mind went back to the ballroom and the agents stationed around it. It had made those investigating the mole nervous that the Monterrey office had been able to send no word on the cartel. They all agreed that the mole suspected he or she had been made—and may have alerted the cartel. The mole no longer used the same cell phone that they had tracked the week before.

Looking around at the agents again, Matt was surprised to catch Brad Smith watching them. Or rather, watching Sarah. He recognized the look and guided Sarah out of Smith's line of sight. Surprised, he wondered at the other agent's boldness. _He was checking her out._ _Surely he must know Lee or I could see him looking at her like that._

Matt felt Sarah's hand caress his shoulder. "Are you okay? The dance is ending, and you seem to be miles away."

"I'm fine. Just keeping an eye on things for a minute. Would you like to get something to drink and sit down for the next one?"

"That would be nice. These shoes are starting to pinch."

Sarah found herself talking with one of the museum trustees and his wife while Matt went to get them some refreshments.

Lee stopped Matt before he could reach table that held the water glasses. "Hey, Matt. I've seen you checking out the room. You're supposed to be enjoying yourself."

"Once a spy…"

"Always a spy. Listen, I know how it goes. But try not to worry for tonight, okay?"

"I'll work on it." Lee began to move away, but Matt stopped him. "Have you noticed Brad Smith doing anything unusual this evening?"

After thinking for a moment, Lee frowned and shook his head. "No. Did you notice something suspicious?"

"Not exactly. Just unusual."

"I'll keep my eye out." Lee moved off to rejoin Amanda.

_It's probably nothing. She's looking gorgeous tonight—you've done the same thing yourself on many an occasion when she wasn't looking. Stop being so uptight, Granger—for Sarah's sake. She's been looking forward to this evening for months_. Matt still could not shake the nagging feeling. Collecting himself, he took the water glasses over to where Sarah was seated. Seeing Sarah, he had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. _Not again._ The polite older couple had been replaced by a middle-aged man who was leaning in too close to Sarah for Matt's comfort. Matt noticed the ring on the man's left hand as he walked up. Sarah stood up as Matt came near, a look of immense relief on her face.

He handed Sarah her glass. "Let's drink these, Honey, and we'll catch the next dance." Matt did not bother to introduce himself, and he purposefully did not use Sarah's name.

The man, who Matt thought to be in his forties, was not so drunk that he could not appreciate Matt's size and the threatening look the younger man gave him.

As they moved away, Sarah hazarded a glance back at the man, who was wandering towards the bar. "Thank you for rescuing me. He wanted to dance and wouldn't take no for an answer. I was ready to go looking for you."

"Perhaps you could have asked him why he wasn't dancing with his wife. The jerk was old enough to be your father."

Sarah put her hand on Matt's arm as she drank her water. "Oh, that was perfect. Thank you."

Matt did not fail to notice Sarah's calming gesture. "You're welcome. And a man has a right to guard his territory." He continued to watch the man with narrowed eyes, but Sarah could see them twinkling.

"Next you'll be calling me 'your woman.'"

Matt looked at Sarah and laughed before he scanned the room once again. He stopped when he saw Lee and Amanda on the dance floor. "Watch your parents dance, Sarah. They look great together."

Amanda was wearing a fitted midnight blue sequined dress with three-quarter length sleeves that showed off her still-trim figure. "She always looks so nice in that color. And Daddy—he's still crazy in love with her. He's always been pretty handsome. You know, he was supposed to be quite the ladies' man before he met my mom. I guess he made heads turn. He likes to say that she was the only one who really won his heart." Sarah laughed softly.

Sarah had not seen Matt's expression change. He was no longer looking at the Stetsons. She turned to see him gazing at her face.

_Like their daughter has won mine. I hope someday…_

Although he did not say it, Sarah guessed that Matt was thinking the same thing she was. _I hope someday we'll have kids who say things like, 'Daddy is still crazy in love with Mom.'_ She blushed and looked down.

Matt took the glass from Sarah's hand and placed it with his own on a table nearby. He briefly caressed her face before he took her hand and led her to a place on the dance floor near Lee and Amanda.

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Outside the coat check, Lee and Matt helped Amanda and Sarah with their wraps. Lee spoke cheerfully. "Well, I thought the evening came off nicely, Sarah. Your director and her event planners did a nice job."

"I'm just glad I didn't have to plan the party, too. I'm supposed to start on a special exhibit for Christmas next week—or rather continue the research I started. They're trying to figure out how to connect steam punk to spying."

"Sarah, aren't you getting a break? You've been working so hard." Amanda was concerned, and Lee seemed like he was ready to say something.

"I guess it's part of the job."

Amanda and Lee shared looks before Amanda spoke again. "I've been meaning to say that I was very impressed with your dancing tonight, you two. You're very good. People were watching you."

Matt blushed. "I guess the lessons paid off. Thank you. You and Lee looked great out there, you know."

Sarah watched Matt's face. He looked tired. She decided to rescue him from another barrage of pleasantries. "Thank you, Mom. I was thinking the same thing as Matt—you two looked wonderful. Well, we're going to try to go for a run in the morning—although it might be a couple of hours later than usual." Sarah slipped her hand over Matt's arm. "We can work out the kinks from all the dancing and standing. I guess it's time to head home."

Once outside, they found Rene waiting for them. While another valet helped the Stetsons, Rene could not resist another remark before heading off to retrieve the Charger. "You should have seen her on the expressway, Granger. We were almost to Reston before I turned around and headed towards Maryland. The Bay was beautiful tonight."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Rene."

Sarah found herself to be suddenly weary. She held on tighter to Matt's arm and stifled a yawn.

At Matt's look, Rene hurried off to the parking garage.

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Lee had not slept well. He had a feeling of foreboding that unnerved him. Once home, he had checked the intelligence chatter, but there had been nothing new. _Still, they could be laying low._ He had almost called to activate the safe house and bring in Matt and Sarah, but a sudden remembrance of the young couple enjoying an early morning in the backyard several Saturdays ago had stopped him.

_Just give them one last day of freedom, Stetson, before you lock them up in a virtual jail._ He decided to wait until after their morning run. _Maybe by then we'll know more._

Now he watched from the workout room as they stretched together on the back lawn. Matt playfully sparred with Sarah a few times before he reached for her and held her against him. He knew he should look away, but Lee could not stop himself from watching them share a kiss. He found the muscles in his jaw clenching. He whispered out loud, "God, they're so young and so happy—and so in love. Why them? Why us?"

He turned around to find Amanda, who was also dressed, watching him. "I was just wondering the same thing."

"I'm going to tail them. Call me if you need me."

"I'm coming with you."

He nodded at her and took her hand as he left the room, leading her quickly downstairs. He did not want to be far behind Matt and Sarah once they left for the park.

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Matt pulled into the parking area at Bluemont Park. The trail meandered along a shaded creek. They normally ran the trail a few times, but today they would have to cut it short. Sarah had said her feet were still sore from the night before.

"Let's just run it once there and back today, Sarah. We can give your feet a break."

"Are you sure? It's so beautiful out, and it's not too crowded today. That's only a couple of miles."

Matt looked at Sarah. He knew he was not being completely truthful. "I guess I want to be cautious, too. I have feeling in my gut..."

Sarah put her hand on Matt's arm. "I could tell something was bothering you."

Matt put his hand over hers. "We could just go back to your parents' house and use their workout room. It would be a lot safer."

Sarah tried to hide the look of disappointment on her face. "We could…"

"But it's perfect running weather. Nice and cool…" _This may be our last taste of freedom for a while._

"Matt, if you think we should go back, then follow your instincts." Sarah moved to buckle herself in again, but Matt put a hand in the way.

"We should go before we have to warm up all over again." After checking his mirrors one more time, he touched Sarah's shoulder to delay her. "I think we've been tailed."

Sarah looked at Matt questioningly. After following his gaze, she frowned. "I'm used to Daddy spying on me, but now Mom is spying on us, too. She's usually the one to stop him."

"Maybe she came along to keep him from joining us on our run." Matt chuckled briefly, then sobered. "But more likely they are worried. Consider it backup." Matt thought a moment, then pulled his Bluetooth out of the console and activated it. "I can contact the Agency quickly this way—if we need to." After pulling up the application he needed, he locked his phone and secured it in his knife holder, then got out of the car and went to help Sarah with her door. "Stay close to me today, okay?"

Sarah nodded. She glanced at her parents out of the corner of her eye, then jogged with Matt to the trail.

As they looped around back toward their starting point, Sarah could feel the cool breeze from the north on her face. Fall was definitely in the air. Soon she and Matt might be trading their shorts and t-shirts for long pants and jackets. For now she enjoyed the freshness of the morning.

Matt seemed to sense her mood and was keeping up with her pace easily. He did his best to talk to her between breaths. "Sarah, let's take the shortcut around that baseball field just north of the parking lot, then head back to the car."

Sarah gave Matt a thumbs up. When they had passed the field earlier, they had only seen one lone jogger crossing it because of the lateness of the season and the coolness of the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

Back at the car, Amanda looked over at Lee. "This can't be very helpful. Who knows if these guys would even come here? And there are other places they could park. The trail stretches a good mile north of here."

"Amanda, I have a gut feeling that we should have stopped them. I'm tempted to call Matt right now and go pick them up." He ran a hand across the back of his neck. "I can feel the hairs standing up…" Lee played with the cable ties they kept in the car, ready to shove them in his pocket so they could be used as handcuffs. He picked up his Glock and checked the magazine once again.

Watching him from her seat, Amanda spoke quietly. "But you didn't want to ruin what might be their last chance to enjoy some time alone."

"Yeah. But at some point all hell is going to break loose and I don't want them in the middle of it." Lee stopped talking when Amanda put her hand on his arm.

"Lee, that's them." Amanda's voice, barely above a whisper, cracked.

Four men emerged from a black van. Lee and Amanda pulled out binoculars to identify them for certain as they stretched and jogged around for a minute or two before running north along the trail in Sarah and Matt's direction.

"That van wasn't here a few minutes ago."

Lee activated his Bluetooth and quickly handed a few cable ties to Amanda as he opened his car door. "They must have a GPS tracker. Matt had his Bluetooth and his phone on him. Amanda, I'll call Matt while you call the Agency. Get some back up over here—and tell them to start tracking Matt."

"Where do you think you're going all by yourself?" After stuffing the cable ties in her pocket, Amanda tucked her gun into the waist of her jeans and pulled her shirt over it. She speed-dialed the Agency using her Bluetooth as she got out of the car and caught up to Lee. He locked the car as they broke into a run northward in the direction of Sarah, Matt, and the cartel members.

After the warning from Lee, Matt and Sarah started running as fast as they could back to the main path and the parking lot. They were navigating a rough trail on the far side of the field near the trees when they spotted the four men coming around a bend on the path.

Matt barely had time to offer a hoarse whisper between breaths to Sarah as he tapped the Bluetooth, which speed-dialed the Agency. "Keep me between you and them." He managed a few words to Narelle, who answered the phone. "Agent needs assistance. Bluemont Park. Contact Stetsons." He took Sarah's hand and tried to veer away from the men, but they were soon surrounded. Wasting no time, Matt moved aggressively towards Marcelo and executed a roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him senseless to the ground.

Piedro and Luis went after Matt as Diego grabbed Sarah. Struggling with him for a few moments, Sarah was finally able to take Diego off his feet and execute a knifehand chop to the side of his head. Diego was immediately out cold.

Sarah whipped around to where Matt was circling with Piedro and Luis. None of the men seemed to notice her as they each held a knife in their hands.

Except Matt. "Run, Sarah! Get out of here!"

Just then Piedro lashed out with his knife, slicing open Matt's shirt and leaving a bloody six-inch gash on his abdomen.

Shocked, Sarah could not move. She felt as if her legs were frozen. In that split second, she also knew she could not leave Matt there to fight alone.

Luis used that opportunity to grab Sarah, holding his knife to her throat.

The distraction gave Piedro the opportunity to once again lunge at Matt, who countered with his own move. They sparred for a few moments, striking one another with their free hands and lashing out with their knives. Matt almost took Piedro down with hard kick that landed on his shoulder instead of his head. As Piedro recovered, Luis took that moment to distract Matt and give Piedro the upper hand. He held Sarah tightly against him with his knife hand and twisted her arm, causing her to whimper involuntarily.

The distraction worked. Matt took his eyes off Piedro just long enough for him to strike out at Matt. This time his knife found a more critical mark, as it plunged deeply into Matt's lower chest.

Matt returned with a blow from his own knife, and both men fell to the ground in a death struggle.

Sarah cried out, and Luis pressed the knife against her throat. She wanted to fight him and run to Matt, but the pain of the sharp blade against her skin reminded her to hold still.

After the initial shock of the stabbing, Matt felt nothing. His only thought was to get Piedro out of the way so he could stop Luis from taking Sarah. As he grappled with Piedro, his knife found its mark once again. Piedro fell against Matt, pinning him to the ground. Weakened by his wounds, Matt pushed with what little strength he had against Piedro and managed to roll the other man off of his body, retrieving his knife in the process.

Now fearful for his own life, Luis started dragging Sarah away from the grisly scene.

"No, no. We can't leave him there. He'll die. Let go of me!" Sarah began sobbing desperately.

Lee and Amanda were skirting the trees, watching the path, when they heard Sarah. As they veered towards the field, they pulled their guns from their waists. Lee noticed two joggers watching at a distance—one was talking on a cell phone. Seeing more bystanders starting to gather, he shouted, "Federal agents! Stay back."

Black spots danced before Matt's eyes as he struggled to his feet. Pulling the knife from his body, he immediately felt as if a crushing weight was bearing down on his chest. The pain was more intense than anything he had felt before.

Just then Lee and Amanda reached the scene. Amanda ran towards Diego, who was pushing himself off the ground. She pulled out a pair of cable ties and quickly cuffed him, forcing him to lay flat on his stomach. Seeing Matt on his feet, she did not fully comprehend his injuries as her attention focused on Sarah.

Lee took a few cautious steps towards Luis and Sarah, pointing his gun at Luis and releasing the safety at the same time. "Let the girl go."

"No way. She's my ticket out of here. Don't do anything stupid or I'll use the knife on her." As if to make sure Lee knew he was serious, he pressed the blade firmly against Sarah's neck, drawing blood.

Sarah flinched in pain, but remained silent, watching her father.

"Let her go or I'll shoot you. And I won't be taking any chances that you'll still get away with her." Lee raised the gun.

"You won't shoot me. I know she's your daughter and you don't want to hit her." Luis sneered at Lee and started to back away from him. Sarah struggled to keep up with Luis, the knife still held against her throat.

Knowing he was about to lose consciousness, Matt took his aim carefully. This was his only chance. With one swift movement, he let the knife fly, praying it would find his intended mark and not hit Sarah. It was a dangerous risk.

Luis flew backwards to the ground, taking Sarah with him; at the same time the report from Lee's handgun reverberated around the field.

The suffocating feeling and the gripping pain were overwhelming. Matt desperately wanted to go to Sarah, but he could not move as blackness overcame him. As he slipped from consciousness, Matt felt his body collapse to the ground. Amanda's frantic voice seemed to be miles away.

"Sarah!" Amanda watched in horror, unsure if her daughter was injured, as Lee rushed to Sarah's side. At the same time, Amanda saw Matt fall to the ground, unconscious. Torn with the impulse to run to Matt, Amanda knew she could not leave Diego, who looked like he would bolt if she turned away.

A cursory glance at Luis told Lee that the man was no longer a threat. While Matt had not had the strength to do much damage with his knife, Lee's bullet had found its mark. Pushing Luis' body away, Lee tried to rouse his daughter. "Sarah! Are you all right?"

Momentarily stunned from the impact of her head hitting the ground, Sarah stared at her father for several seconds as he continued to call her name. Bright flashes of light danced in front of her eyes before she came to her senses. Ignoring the ringing in her ears and Lee's attempts to help her, she scrambled to her feet and ran to Matt.

Lee joined her and together they turned Matt onto his back. When he pulled up Matt's shirt, Lee's stomach lurched. Reaching for his handkerchief, he pressed it to the puncture wound. "We need to sit him up so he can breathe more easily. Get behind him."

Sarah obeyed, sitting down behind Matt and holding him with his head against her shoulder while she pressed the handkerchief against his wound. She began sobbing once again. "Don't leave me, Matt. Don't leave me. Stay with me." Desperately she held Matt to her, rocking back and forth.

The movement caused Matt to convulsively gasp for air. With a violent shudder, he regained consciousness.

Savage pain wracked his chest, radiating to his back and shoulder; he could hear Sarah's disconsolate crying. He tried to speak. "Sarah. Sparrow."

Her sobs slowed at the sound of his voice and she sat still.

"Sarah. Sparrow." Matt's words were choked, but she could hear them. He tried to grab hold of her hand, but he was too weak. The pressure on his chest was unbearable.

She took his hand and stopped crying as she held him against her, pressing her cheek against his. "I'm here Matt. 'His eye is on the sparrow. His eye is on the sparrow.'" Unable to articulate her prayer, Sarah could only repeat the words as tears coursed down her cheeks. She felt him relax as he lost consciousness again. No longer aware of the scene around her, Sarah did not notice the police arrive and offer assistance to her parents.

"NEST is on its way, Sarah. A helicopter should be here any minute." A first aid kit in her hands,

Amanda knelt by Sarah, who had finally grown silent. Amanda replaced the handkerchief with a clean bandage and taped it to Matt's chest. Unwrapping a reflective blanket from the kit, Amanda cut out a square of the plastic and taped it over the bandage before draping what remained of the blanket over Matt. Having done what she could for him, Amanda wrapped an arm around Sarah's shoulders and began stroking Sarah's hair with the other hand as they waited for the NEST team.

Emotionally spent, Lee let his hands drop to his sides and stood surveying the bloody scene. Sirens wailed in the distance, and the distinctive beat of chopper blades neared the park. Piedro and Luis lay dead. Two police officers stood with their guns trained on Diego, awaiting the Agency operatives who would take him into custody. During the melee, Marcelo, who had regained consciousness, slipped away. While additional police officers were combing the park, Lee instinctively knew they would not find him.

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Sarah wrapped her arms around her knees and listened to the sounds of the emergency room, busy with the influx of hapless patients suffering from the various injuries that can come with weekend sports and home repairs. While the NEST patients remained separate from the civilians, Sarah's room was near the doorway to the rest of the emergency unit, so she could not shut out the noise from the crowded public section outside. She strained to hear the NEST team as they worked on Matt, who was the center of their attention just next door. Finally a nurse rushed out to the station and picked up the phone. Sarah could not hear everything the woman said, but she heard the words "surgery" and "CT."

Feeling her throat constrict, Sarah fought back the urge to cry once again. Her mouth felt like cotton and her head throbbed. Dried blood covered her hands and the front of her t-shirt. She tried to pray, but her mind would not work.

Suddenly, there was a commotion as a doctor and nurse wheeled Matt's gurney out of his room. Sarah choked out a sob as she caught a glimpse of him lying helpless upon it as they wheeled him from the emergency room. In their rush to get Matt to surgery, a sheet had been thrown over his body, but his shoulders and a leg were exposed. His face was covered with an oxygen mask similar to the one they had placed on him before the helicopter ride. Unable to hold back the tears any longer, Sarah put her forehead on her knees and cried freely.

"Miss Stetson?" A comforting hand touched Sarah's arm.

Sarah looked up to see the nurse who had briefly spoken to her when she and Matt had arrived at the hospital.

"My name is Heidi. I'm sorry I haven't been in to check on you. They just took Matt up to surgery. He's stable, but I won't sugarcoat things for you. His condition is critical."

Sarah nodded mutely. She had known without the nurse telling her.

"The doctor will be in soon to examine the wound on your neck."

"Who is her doctor?"

Sarah was almost overwhelmed at the immense feeling of relief that washed over her at the familiar sound of her father's deep voice.

While he was speaking with the nurse, Amanda came into the room and joined Sarah on the gurney. Putting her arms around her daughter, she held Sarah tightly to her. "Oh, Sarah. I'm sorry it took us so long to get here. The Saturday traffic was really slow."

Finally they pulled apart. "Did you hear what the nurse said about Matt?" Sarah had stopped crying, but as she looked down at her hands, she could see them trembling.

"Yes, I did. Sarah, he's strong, and he's young. We'll keep praying." Amanda noticed Sarah's hands, and took them in her own. "Let's go in the restroom and clean you up."

From the doorway, Lee watched Amanda help Sarah from the bed, his mouth set in a grim line.

Once she was on her feet, Sarah felt the room spin, and her stomach started to lurch.

"Let me, Amanda." Placing his arms about Sarah, Lee all but carried her into the bathroom. The feeling of nausea passed, but she clung to her father for support. "It's okay, Pumpkin. I'll hold you up while your mom helps you at the sink."

Amanda forced herself to speak calmly as she placed a cool, wet paper towel on the back of Sarah's neck and began to gently wash her face, hands, and arms. "When was the last time you had something to drink or eat, Sarah?"

"I had some water before I left the apartment."

"Did you eat this morning?"

"I don't think so. Mom, my head is killing me. I need to lie down. I'm really cold, too."

Amanda looked at Lee, who nodded at her before directing his words to their daughter. "Let me help you to the gurney, then I'll get your jacket from Matt's car—I saw it on the front seat when I was driving the Charger here."

Amanda was offering Sarah ice chips when Lee brought the jacket into the room. "The doctor is on her way. I'll step out for a minute." Amanda helped Sarah remove her t-shirt and zipped her into the lightweight athletic jacket.

"Please just toss it, Mom. I don't want the reminder."

Amanda threw the shirt into the trash as the doctor knocked and entered the room, followed by Lee.

"Hello Sarah. I'm Dr. Heird. I've already met your parents before." Dr. Heird reached out a hand to Sarah. "I'm sorry things are moving so slowly today. Normally we have a few regular hospital staff for support, but they are all occupied in the other section of the E.R. today."

"As long as Matt got the help he needed, I don't care." Sarah's voice was flat. After shaking the doctor's hand, she had leaned back against the gurney.

With a practiced eye, Dr. Heird took in Sarah's condition. She pulled out her opthalmoscope and examined Sarah's eyes, before changing instruments and looking in her ears. After asking Sarah several questions and testing her responses, she regarded Sarah once again. "Your father said that you were dizzy earlier."

"Yes."

"Any nausea?"

"Yes, but I managed to keep from throwing up."

"I saw you were taking ice chips. How did that go down?"

"Okay. It's only bad if I move around too much."

Dr. Heird leaned in to get a better view of the laceration on Sarah's neck. She reached for a glove and examined it further, stopping when Sarah winced. "I'm sorry. It looks like you are due for a few stitches, too. But it's a clean wound, so it should heal nicely."

Dr. Heird stepped back and pulled off the glove, tossing it in the nearby trash. "Sarah, why don't you rest for a bit? Your mom can help you into a gown, then I'm going to talk with your parents outside. I will have Heidi bring you a warm blanket when she starts your I.V. No need to be in here shivering."

When Amanda joined them outside the room, Dr. Heird was sober. "Sarah seems to have suffered a concussion of some degree, and she is showing the early signs of shock. You were right to bring your concerns to me, Mr. Stetson. At first I thought perhaps it was a case of dehydration and also the stress brought on from the attack, but those are only contributing factors here. I hate to put Sarah through any more than is necessary, but I just won't be at ease unless we do a CT to check the extent of her head injury. In the meantime, we should keep her comfortable and encourage her to rest—sleeping is fine. It might help her emotional state if the time can go more quickly until Mr. Granger is out of surgery.

"Let's wait until after I've seen the CT results before we give her any food or any more water or ice. If everything is okay, we can then push the fluids slowly and she can eat something mild in small amounts when she's ready. Once she is back from the CT, I'll sew up the wound on her neck. I don't believe the concussion is serious, but I'll know more once I take a look at the CT results. I do recommend you have Dr. Kirby come in for a psych evaluation."

"Thank you, Dr. Heird. I appreciate all you are doing for Sarah and for Matt," offered Amanda.

"I merely assisted with Mr. Granger. He is in good hands with Dr. Fassbender. Her specialty is thoracic surgery."

As Dr. Heird walked off to speak to the nurse, Lee spoke quietly to Amanda. "We have agents stationed at the two exits to the department, and two more up with Matt. I'll have one of the agents down here escort Sarah to the CT room." Lee ran a hand through his hair. "God, Amanda. I was so worried about her. I know there was no other way, but I can't help but feel guilty. It was my bullet that brought Santiago down. There was no way to cushion her fall, and they went down hard. She didn't even know me when I first got to her."

"I was worried, too, but thankfully you have a sharp eye and asked the doctor to look into it. Lee, you can't feel guilty. You saved Sarah's life—if Santiago had taken her away, it would have been worse than a nightmare." Amanda reached out for Lee, who took her in his arms.

While they were talking, Heidi had gone into Sarah's room with the blanket. They followed her in and watched silently as Heidi cared for Sarah. Finally Heidi turned to them and spoke quietly. "She's pretty drowsy—I think the warm blanket helped her to relax. Now that I've started an I.V., an orderly will be here any minute to take her for the CT. You can wait here in the room while she's gone. It won't take long."

After Amanda thanked her, she turned to Lee and whispered, "We need to call Kirby."

"I almost want to talk with him myself about this. We've been in some bad situations, Amanda, but nothing prepares you for seeing your child's life in danger like that."

Amanda hugged Lee tightly as they stood there for a few minutes watching Sarah sleep. They had just settled into their chairs when the orderly came to take her to the CT lab. She woke up as the gurney began to move. Amanda got up and took her hand. "You'll be right back, Sarah. They are just going to do a CT and make sure all is well. You hit your head pretty hard."

Lee and Amanda spent the next fifteen minutes calling Francine, Phillip, Jamie, and Rene. Phillip and Amy offered to watch the boys and come by later so Jamie and Jennifer could come to the hospital that afternoon.

Francine had already been briefed on the attack, but she was anxious to hear an update on Matt and Sarah. "I wish I could be there to help you. We haven't gotten much out of Jimenez. Either Sarah really cleaned his clock when she knocked him out or he's good at keeping secrets."

Lee couldn't help but grin at the comment about Sarah, but he quickly grew serious again. "She handled herself pretty well. But all those years we worked on her self-defense skills, I hoped she'd never have to use them."

"Thank God she knew what to do—and that she had Matt there to help her. I just hope he comes out of this okay. I'll be by later when things settle down here."

"There's no need, Francine."

"Yes, there is. My two best friends need some support and I want to see how my goddaughter and her boyfriend are doing. This isn't just about the Agency. I can get you some food, sit with Sarah, whatever. I'll see you when I can."

Before Amanda or Lee could reply over the speaker, Francine had ended the call. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows and smiled. Amanda was the first to speak. "She's right, you know. We're still running on adrenaline. It will be nice to have the support. I guess it's past lunchtime. Rene said he would come later this evening. He plans to stay overnight at the post by Sarah's room."

"Does it ever seem surreal to you that Francine calls us her best friends?"

"Oh, Lee. I stopped worrying about that fifteen years ago. No, twenty years ago."

"Just trying to lighten the mood."

"And I hate to dampen it again, but what do we do about Matt's family? This is much more complicated than the usual agent-injured-in-the-line-of-duty. They've invited Sarah for Thanksgiving—they could be our future in-laws. They need to know what's going on."

Amanda watched the muscles in Lee's jaw clench. "I'll make the call. But they'll want to come here. As soon as Matt is able, we have to get him to a safe house. We can't get them mixed up in this."

"We'll have to make up a story."

Lee looked at Amanda's face. "I know. We're back to lying. Just like with your mother all those years ago."

Amanda sighed. "I hate it, but we have no choice. Do you suppose his parents are used to this, from Matt's tour in Afghanistan?"

"Maybe. He was on several ops that lasted for weeks. I'm sure they had no word from him during that time. Only he was never injured like this. Listen, I had better make the call before Sarah gets back. We'll say that he had been on a top secret project at an undisclosed location, but that he's got the best care and we'll update them regularly. I'll use my personal cell phone so they can call me if they want to."

Amanda nodded, then let out a sigh as she sat back in her chair and prepared to listen to the call.

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Lee checked his watch once again before getting up to pace. Jamie sat back in his chair and looked over at the recovery room doors, willing the surgeon to come out and update them on Matt's condition.

"It's been four hours since they took him into surgery. I thought he was already in the recovery room an hour or two ago."

Just then a blue light began to flash on the wall above the doors. A recorded voice was broadcast from the speakers in the hallway. "Code blue in third floor recovery. Code blue in third floor recovery."

Lee and Jamie watched in concern as two nurses rushed from the break room across the hall and through the recovery room doors.

Lee, his face ashen, turned to Jamie. "You don't suppose?" He didn't really register Jamie's answer, as a sudden flashback to a California hospital almost twenty-five years earlier assaulted him. He stumbled to a chair and sat down hard.

Jamie put a hand on Lee's shoulder. "We don't know that it's Matt, Lee. We have to think the best for his sake and Sarah's."

Just then Lee's cell phone rang. When Lee fumbled with it, Jamie took the phone. He answered it when he saw it was his mother. "Hi, Mom. What's up? …We don't know. Let's hope that no news is good news, okay, Mom? Is Sarah okay? Did she hear it? …Well, I'll let you go help her, then. We'll call as soon as we know anything. I promise."

Having collected himself, Lee sat back in the chair and looked at Jamie as he took his phone. "It sounded like Sarah heard. God, she didn't need that. Is she okay?"

"Sarah was pretty frantic. Mom is doing her best to calm her down."

Lee did not reply. His mouth set in the same grim line it had held earlier.

Jamie knew that look. Lee was protective of his family, and any injury to them—emotional or physical—brought on feelings of either guilt, frustration, or anger. In this case, Jamie imagined it was a combination of all three.

"Sarah will be okay, Lee. She just needs to heal from the head injury and get through the shock of their attack. You did everything you could to help them."

"Did I? It was my bullet knocking Santiago to the ground that caused her to hit her head. And I could have stopped them from going in the first place."

"Your bullet kept Santiago from hurting Sarah. As for stopping Matt and Sarah, who are adults, you didn't know Gomez and his men were in town." Jamie stood up to stretch his legs. "You never told me the CT results. Sarah seemed pretty out of it when Jennifer and I got here."

"Thankfully it was only a moderate concussion. I was worried she'd need surgery, too. She was so much worse after we got here than when she left in the helicopter."

An interminable hour later, Lee was pacing around the waiting area when he saw movement through the doors. "I think that's Dr. Fassbender coming."

The two men watched as the surgeon, looking weary, came through the doors. She walked up to Lee and held out her hand. "Mr. Stetson. You may remember me. I'm Dr. Fassbender."

"Yes." Lee turned to Jamie, who had gotten to his feet. "This is my son, Jamie. He's also a friend of Matt's."

Dr. Fassbender smiled and shook Jamie's hand. "Matt is still in critical condition, but he's stable for the moment, and we've finally been able to move him to ICU, which is just down the hall. There was a crisis when we brought him out of the anesthesia, but I am ahead of myself. First of all, I should thank the person who administered first aid. Their quick thinking helped keep Matt's lung from fully collapsing."

"That would be my wife…"

"Ah." Colleen Fassbender nodded in understanding. She had met Amanda on several occasions and knew of her first aid skills. "Well, unfortunately, there was also some hemorrhaging from the diaphragm, but we have stopped it, and we've been successful getting air into Matt's lung. He'll have a chest tube for a few days, and have to remain on a ventilator for the next day or two to give his lung a rest. That's where the crisis came in. Sometimes patients who are placed on a ventilator panic when they first regain consciousness. As you can imagine, that would be problematic for someone in Matt's condition. Typically we sedate the patient if they are having difficulty with the ventilator, but Matt did not respond well to the sedative."

At the mention of the sedative, Lee grew alarmed. "Matt had a reaction to an overdose of sedatives—it's a long story, but he was undercover; we were on an op. I thought we had a note placed in his medical records. I guess you doctors would say he crashed—his breathing and heart rate slowed way down."

"Since the drug he received in Kazakhstan was an overdose of an untested medication of dubious origins, we decided to proceed with a minimal dosage of a sedative known for having few side effects. As I said, he was panicking and we were concerned he would do himself harm. However, Matt did 'crash.' His heart stopped temporarily, but we were able to stabilize him."

"His heart stopped?" Lee did his best to remain professional.

"Yes, but he responded quickly to our efforts. He is young and in excellent condition, which helped."

"So he is still doing some of the breathing on his own?"

"Yes. But the ventilator is doing a large portion of the work until Matt recovers further. It's very important that he stay on the ventilator for the next couple of days. I'd like to keep his medications to a minimum so he can recover more quickly. It's important that his respiratory system not be compromised so we will be able to wean him off the ventilator when the time comes. That's where we need your help. I thought perhaps if he could see a familiar face—the nurse is doing all she can to calm Matt, but he still is agitated. I'm afraid the medication we had to give him for his heart hasn't helped, either. Basically, unless we can get Matt to lie quietly, it will take longer for him to heal, and he'll be in a great deal more pain than is necessary."

"I'd be happy to sit with him, but my wife is better in these situations."

"Frankly, Mr. Stetson, I'd like to see what we can do as soon as possible. Would you follow me?"

Lee shot a look towards Jamie, who waved him on. "I'll call Mom."

As Lee entered Matt's room in the intensive care unit, he observed the nurse standing at Matt's bedside, trying to calm him. To Lee, Matt had the appearance of a caged lion who was trying to lie still. There were tubes everywhere, and Lee imagined that any movement for Matt was probably intensely painful. He approached Matt's line of sight cautiously, not wanting to disturb him further.

"Hey. It's good to see you awake. I know Sarah will be glad you made it out of surgery okay."

Matt's eyebrows went up at the sight of Lee. He grimaced as he raised a hand to grab Lee's arm when he came close. His eyes searched Lee's pleadingly, willing him to understand something.

"Sarah's upstairs, Matt. She's doing okay—worried about you more than anything. I'll bring her down in a little bit."

Matt closed his eyes as if he was relieved, but Lee could tell the anxiety was still there.

"Matt, I need to ask the nurse a question. I'll be right back."

Lee approached the nurse, Elaine, who was seated at the desk across from Matt's room. "It seems like he's in a lot of pain…"

"He's been moving around too much. He's calmer now, but it will take some time before he's comfortable again. We have him on a morphine drip. If you can help him to lie quietly, that would be the best thing."

Lee nodded and moved to go back into Matt's room, when he saw his wife walk in. "Amanda, I'm so glad you're here."

"I came as soon as Jamie explained the situation."

Matt seemed relieved to see Amanda at first, then the agitation returned. She signaled to Lee and he joined her in the doorway. "I think he needs Sarah. I think the medication is making him anxious—perhaps a little irrational. Maybe if he could see her in person…"

"I'll see if I can bring her down."

"It will have to be in a wheelchair. Both Jennifer and I had to help her to the bathroom earlier. She's still very dizzy and quite drowsy."

"Do you think she's well enough to handle this?"

"If we keep it short. I'll ask Dr. Fassbender to call the nurse up there."

A short time later Lee wheeled Sarah, her head propped on one hand, into the ICU. He stopped the wheelchair and bent down to talk with his daughter. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I want to see him. Matt needs me. I'll be okay, Daddy." Sarah sat up in the chair and tried to look bright. Jennifer had brought her robe from the apartment, and Sarah's hair had been brushed and rebraided.

Lee put a hand on Sarah's shoulder before he continued through Matt's door. Amanda moved aside as Lee maneuvered the chair up to Matt's bedside. His eyes were closed, but his arms were restless. Sarah took Matt's hand and held it up to her face. Lee and Amanda slipped out of the room.

"Matt." Sarah kissed Matt's hand and held it against her cheek once again. "My love. I'm here."

Halfway between sleep and wakefulness, Matt's mind was filled with a whirlwind of dream-like images. He was searching frantically for Sarah, but she was nowhere to be found. Luis Santiago was there, his knife pointed at Matt first, then at Sarah. Suddenly Santiago was dragging Sarah away. Matt stood frozen as they moved further and further away from Matt. He tried to call to her but he was choking. Someone was suffocating him. Then he could hear her. A soft hand held his. He could feel the smoothness of her cheek, then the light touch of her lips against the back of his hand. There it was. Her voice. "My love." She was calling to him. He was afraid to open his eyes, sure that it was a dream. She was gone. Or dead. He had seen Santiago dragging her away. He had known as the knife left his hand that it would not stop Santiago. Sarah was gone and no one would tell him the truth about her. But she continued to call out to him. The sensation of her hand on his would not go away. He opened his eyes.

Sarah was there. He could see her holding his hand against her cheek. She kissed it again. Tears ran down her face; her cool, smooth cheek had grown wet. He heard her voice whispering loving words. He had not been dreaming. She was there. He wanted to hold her so badly. The rest of the memory came back to him then. She had been with him afterwards. Sarah had held him in her arms, in the park.

Although every movement of his body was painful, Matt squeezed Sarah's hand. Releasing it, he wiped the tears from her cheek, then let his fingers graze the bandage on her neck before dropping his arm back to the bed.

The effort had exhausted him, and he closed his eyes once again. The anxiety that had plagued his mind and body dissipated. As the pain began to subside, he drifted off to sleep.

Sarah sat and watched Matt for a long time. Afraid of waking him, she no longer held his hand, content to let her eyes take in every part of him that she could see from the wheelchair. The soft lights that shone from behind Matt's bed made the curly light brown hairs of his arm look golden. His muscular chest, which was a symbol of comfort and strength to Sarah, moved gently with the beat of the respirator. The tubes that ran from Matt's body were hidden from Sarah's view on the opposite side of the bed. He had shaved before coming to her apartment that morning, but his five o'clock shadow was now evident.

It seemed like days since they had stretched for their run in her parents' backyard. Matt had sparred with her a little—more for play than anything else—then taken her in his arms for one of his wonderful kisses. He was always so gentle with his affections. She could not connect the man in the bed with the one who had fought so hard to save her in the park. For that matter, was this really the man in the tuxedo who had held her in his strong arms and danced with her just the night before?

A hand caressed Sarah's hair before coming to rest on her shoulder.

Sarah recognized the light scent of her mother's perfume. She reached up to pat her mother's hand.

"He finally fell asleep. I think he needed to really know you were okay."

"I think I needed to see him, too. Even though my head still hurts, my heart doesn't anymore."

"He'll be okay, Sarah. He's a fighter."

"Yes." Sarah was quiet a minute. "People are so much more complex than we think they are." At Amanda's hesitation, Sarah explained herself. "In just the last twenty-four hours I've seen so many sides of Matt. Sweet, gentle, playful, manly, frightening—and now vulnerable."

"Your father is complex like that."

"But we love them for all those different things. Matt probably never would have wanted me to see him fight like that. He's told me very little about his experiences in the Army. But I'm proud of him. He fought like that to protect me—I just wish it hadn't cost him so much."

"Matt is a brave and honorable man and he's very devoted to you, Sarah. More than most men would be to the woman they love. He told your father and me once that he'd be willing to die for you. I believed him at the time, but I'm certain of it, now. I'm so sorry he was forced to prove it."

"God has really blessed me with Matt, hasn't He?"

"He's blessed our family, Sweetheart." Amanda caressed Sarah's hair again. "Let's get you back to your room. If you get some rest tonight, maybe you'll be feeling well enough to come down here on your own tomorrow."


	8. Chapter 8

Curled up under a blanket in the lounge chair in Matt's room, Sarah slept. Matt watched her, glad to have her nearby. Dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved top, she no longer wore the hospital gown and robe she had the first few times he had seen her. He wanted to know why she had been admitted to the hospital, but since she was now in her street clothes, he knew he should not be as worried now as he was when he first saw her. Except that she seemed dizzy at times, and she would wince now and then. No one had explained anything to him. He did not even know if Sarah had stitches under the bandage on her neck. Still on the respirator, he could not ask, and since, he was fairly certain, they were concerned about upsetting him, no one would talk about her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Fassbender enter the room. Having noticed Sarah in the corner, she spoke softly as she came into view. "Hello, Matt." Pulling out her stethoscope, she listened to his lungs. "Everything sounds good and your chest film looks good. Are you ready to breathe on your own? The ventilator is doing very little of the work now."

In the two days he had been on the respirator, Matt had learned a sort of code. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"That seems to be a 'yes.' I need to warn you that it might be somewhat unpleasant removing the tube."

Matt felt Sarah's hand on his. _She must have awakened when we started talking._

"Do you want me to stay, Matt? I can wait outside."

Matt gripped her hand hard and gave her a long blink.

His nurse, Elaine, came into the room, ready to assist Dr. Fassbender with the tube removal.

Eager to give them the space they needed, Sarah kissed Matt's cheek and stepped out of the way. She sat in the chair, praying, as they went through the process of removing the breathing tube and shutting off the respirator. Sarah could not see Matt's face, but she watched his body tense with the pain of the procedure.

Dr. Fassbender checked Matt's blood oxygen level and listened carefully once again to Matt's lungs, now breathing completely on their own, although he still received oxygen. "Excellent, Matt. We will monitor your blood oxygen and try to get you off this nasal cannula and the feeding tube by tomorrow as well. Don't try to talk just yet. I want you to rest quietly for a bit and your throat needs to heal from the ventilator tube. You can have some plain fluids again, now. Just ice chips or small sips from a straw." Elaine reappeared with two cups, setting the one with the ice chips on the counter, prepared to help Matt take a few sips from the straw.

"What about the chest tube, Dr. Fassbender?"

"If Matt continues to do well breathing on his own, he can probably have the chest tube removed tomorrow or the day after—and move to a regular room."

"Thank you for everything. I'm so grateful to you for all that you've done for Matt." Sarah moved back over to Matt's bedside and took his hand again. He gripped hers in return.

"I'm glad that Matt is doing so well. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Once they were alone, Matt squeezed Sarah's hand again. "Are you in much pain, Matt?" Sarah leaned over him and looked in his face.

Now that he no longer had the respiratory tube in his throat, he was able to shake his head. "Come here."

Sarah drew closer and kissed Matt on the lips. As she pulled away, she heard him whisper, "In fact, I'm feeling just fine now."

She laughed quietly, then held onto the bed rail when a wave of dizziness came over her.

Matt gripped her hand again. When Sarah opened her eyes, he was watching her. He continued to whisper. "When are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?"

"You shouldn't be talking, Matt."

"Please tell me. I've been wondering ever since I woke up from surgery."

"I guess I hit my head pretty hard when I fell to the ground."

"Oh, Sarah." Matt's eyes wore an anguished look.

"It was a moderate concussion. I'm not as hard-headed as I thought. But I'm a lot better. I was pretty sleepy the first day or two. And the dizziness only comes once in a while."

Matt reached up to brush his fingertips along Sarah's throat. His quiet words were hoarse. "He hurt you…"

"It's only four stitches. I'll be okay, Matt." Sarah smiled and caressed his face. She could see that he was growing fatigued. "Why don't you take a nap for a little while?"

"Only if you rest, too," he whispered. "I love you."

Sarah kissed Matt's forehead and smoothed his hair. "I love you, too. I know you aren't supposed to talk, but it was so good to hear your voice again."

Matt thought he saw her lower lip tremble before she turned to go back to the chair and curl up under the blanket once again.

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Sarah wandered around the modest two-bedroom townhouse that was now her temporary home. Agency operatives guarded the building around the clock from the townhouse next door, and cameras kept track of movement inside. In the week she had been there, Sarah had found a few places she could go where no one could watch her: the bathrooms, a small section of the short hallway, and the closets. Thankfully the cameras in the bedrooms were aimed away from the beds and more towards the windows and doors—she could sleep in private.

On the day she had first stayed there, Phillip had tried to reassure her that the agents probably would not be watching her every move—just keeping an eye on things and watching for anything unusual. "Really, Sis. It would be pretty boring to stare at someone all day."

"Well, even if you're right, they will watch me at least some of the time. It gives me the creeps. Don't forget I know how to disable the cameras if I have a mind to. I learned from the best."

Phillip looked at Sarah, not sure if he should be exasperated or not. He grew serious. "You're here for a reason, Sarah. I know it stinks. And if you think Lee was mad when we screwed up the cameras at the cabin, wait until you see what he would do if you defeated this system."

"But he's not the chief anymore. Francine would be the one who would get ticked." Sarah laughed a little. "I guess I've already caused enough trouble for her in the last couple of months."

"Yes, the way you ran off. I still say you did some awesome driving that day. But you know that we had to scramble to find you in the middle of the Kazakhstan op, right?"

"Yes. Thanks again for your concern. I'll have you know that we caught one of the cartel that time."

"Sarah, let's not go there. For more than one reason." Phillip frowned. "Lee was really freaked about what happened to you and Matt. He was blaming himself—he kept going on about 'what if' they hadn't gotten there in time. Mom really had to talk to him about it."

"Daddy's always the one who says not to dwell on the 'what ifs.'" Sarah grew sober, realizing how hard the last week had been on her father. "That would explain why he was so involved with setting up this place for us. Did you see the treadmill?"

"He rented it himself. The Agency doesn't pay for things like that." Phillip picked up the keys to the getaway car. "Make sure you keep these handy near the door to the garage. You may be the one doing the driving. I know you can handle it."

Sarah's thoughts came back to the present. Until two days ago she had been able to escape the isolation of the safe house by going to the hospital—Rene Enriquez would drive her every other day, with Johnson and Gonzales following in another vehicle. Francine and her father had balked at letting her go anywhere at first, but after Sarah had pleaded with Lee, he had convinced Francine to work out the arrangement. Although Rene had never flirted with Sarah, Johnson and Gonzales had both had an obvious interest in her at one time. Now they seemed to think it was their mission to make sure she made it safely to the hospital and back. Rene had told her that they had gone to her father and personally volunteered to keep an eye on her and Matt. It had become common knowledge that they were a couple, but for now, Rene had told her that people were not feeding the rumor mill. Sarah imagined it was out of pity. Still, she had noticed Brad Smith was very attentive on the few occasions she had seen him at the hospital, guarding Matt. As a defense mechanism, she found herself gravitating to Grace Tanaka, his partner, whenever the two agents were near.

Her parents had usually joined her for part of the day at the hospital, but she could not go home and she could not go to work. The Agency had rigged up a way for Sarah to access her phone messages, but she could not use her phone on a regular basis—she could only use the satellite phone the Agency had loaned her to call other secure phones. That meant no real contact with her friends. Today, Matt would be discharged from the hospital, and she would not have a good reason to leave at all. It was too high a risk for Lee and Amanda to visit her at the safe house. _So Mom compensated by filling the fridge and freezer with meals. At least they kept Matt in the hospital a week longer than normal._ The extra week for Matt to complete some of his therapy bought Sarah an extra week of being able to see her parents and her brothers.

Her mind went to her work and Sarah began to tense up again. When she had called the director to tell her that there had been an accident and she was to stay home at least a week on bed rest, Deb had sounded doubtful. _How can I blame her? It wasn't the whole truth. But it was pretty close._ Sarah had offered to continue her research once the doctor had given her permission to resume work. She would have been glad for the distraction, but it was still difficult to concentrate for any length of time, and she needed to be with Matt at the hospital. _Perhaps on Monday I can start up again. That's two days away._

After glancing up at the nearest camera once again, Sarah sat down on the couch in the living room and sighed. She and Matt would be like lab rats under observation. _I took it for granted. All the time alone Matt and I enjoyed. The freedom to drive out to Elvan. Even our kisses will be on camera. Unless we sneak into the bathrooms or the closet like teenagers. At least we won't be tempted to… Oh, God. It shouldn't be like this. I wanted to move in with Matt someday, but I wanted to be his wife when we did that. We'd share the same bed… It would be wonderful, and it would be normal._

The tears started to come. It would never do to be crying when Matt arrived. Sarah wiped her eyes with a tissue and checked the satellite phone Phillip had given her. There was a slight risk of the mole locating her via the phone, but everyone had agreed that the mole was probably not willing to risk accessing the much more sophisticated equipment triangulating a satellite phone would require. Rene said he would tell her when they left the hospital. Just then the text came through.

_At least if I have to be cooped up, it is with Matt. And he will need my help for another week or two_. Another week or two… Her mother's birthday was coming up in two weeks. Sarah had planned to host the family gathering this year. She was going to cook the dinner herself. She had even asked for the day off from work, since it was a Friday. Before their attack in the park, Matt had offered to ask for the afternoon off so he could help her. _Well, that's two weeks away. Maybe this will all be over by then…_

Just then Sarah heard a car pull up outside. Muted sunlight filtered through Venetian blinds in each of the rooms, but she hated that they could not see out the windows. She remembered her father's stern warning. "If you can see out, they may be able to see in, Sarah. It's too big of a risk." He had looked at her with kindly eyes then.

_Oh, I miss you already, Daddy._

Getting up from the couch, she put out her hand as a wave of dizziness overcame her. _Dr. Heird said these dizzy spells would get better with rest. If only I could sleep well._ She straightened her skirt. The weather had warmed again, and the light fabric felt comfortable. _I'm so grateful Mom sent my clothes with the food and other things. I can look nice for Matt this way._

Sarah knew the drill. She went into her bedroom and waited for Rene to bring Matt into the house. Rene had warned her, "If something were to go down, they often choose the time when people are going in and out of the house."

The front door opened. Matt's voice, no longer hoarse, echoed throughout the small townhouse. "I've got it from here, Rene. Just set that down by the door. Thanks."

Sarah had not made it as far as the bedroom door when Matt found her. Before she could say anything, his arms had wrapped around her and held her close, although he still favored his left side. Remembering his still-healing wounds, she relaxed against him carefully, taking in the scent of his aftershave and feeling his warmth. They had not held one another like this since before the attack. She started to pull away after a minute. "I never said hello."

Matt stopped her with a kiss, then replied, "Neither did I. This is hello enough."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm okay. I missed you."

"I missed you, too. We're on camera."

"I don't care." He kissed her again, this time more deeply. Matt knew that Sarah was serious, so he finally pulled away. "I'm sorry this is such an awkward situation. But we'll make the best of it, right?"

"Yes. And there are no cameras in the bathrooms or the closets. And in that spot about three feet behind you."

"So we'll just have to go to the bathroom if we want to make out."

"I actually thought the closet was more inviting."

Matt's eyebrows shot up. "Good thing there's no audio. At least Phillip insisted there wasn't."

They laughed together. Sarah was grateful that Matt was trying to put her at ease. While she had observed before that Matt was sometimes shy with people in certain situations, she had learned in the hospital that he did not embarrass as easily as she did when it came to privacy and modesty.

It was painful for Matt to move his left arm—the scars from the surgery and the chest tube were still healing. Sarah had been tasked with helping Matt change his bandages once each day. The six-inch gash was nearly healed, but the area was still tender. Matt was weak, and his still-healing lung still could not always keep up.

"We should get you to your bed." Sarah looked in Matt's eyes. She could see he would probably not argue with her. "Do you want to put on some pajamas? I hope you don't mind, but I unpacked the bag you gave Daddy."

"Thanks. Maybe later. I had better get off my feet. I guess I'm not used to all of this activity, yet."

Sarah put her arm around Matt and helped him to the bed. They continued their conversation as she arranged the pillows so he could lie comfortably. She sat down next to him.

"You know, you could have taken the bigger bed and had a more private bathroom. You've been here longer than me."

"Don't be silly. I'm smaller than you are. I'm fine in the other room. Are you hungry? Mom made sure we could eat like kings. Lots of beef for you." Sarah grinned. "She's like my grandmother with her theories on what to eat when you're healing up or sick."

"Is there meatloaf?"

Sarah laughed. "Yes. I thought we'd eat that for dinner tonight."

"Well, you should be in charge of the menu. I always like your cooking and your mom's."

Matt grew thoughtful. He took her hand and watched as he ran his thumb over the back of it. "Sarah, there's been something on my mind this past week or two. That day in the park, you thought I should have followed my instincts. I'm so sorry I didn't take you back to your parents' house. I'm sorry I talked you into going on the run."

"Oh, Matt. We made the decision together. And if it hadn't been the park, it would have been somewhere else. And it might have ended far worse. I'm so thankful you're alive." Sarah vowed to herself that she would not cry. She looked down.

Tipping Sarah's chin up with his finger, Matt looked in her eyes. "Since you put it that way, we need to look at the rest of the silver lining. Things could be worse, Sarah. At least we're together. I don't mean to make light of what happened to us, but I'm so glad I can be with you." _Especially since I almost lost you…_

"I just wish…" Sarah did not have the nerve to say what had been on her mind earlier.

Matt seemed to read her thoughts. "I'm just as old-fashioned as you are, though. I would never have asked you to live with me outside of marriage. Hopefully this will only be for a few days."

Sarah sighed unhappily, then caught herself. _I can't be like this. I need to be cheerful for Matt._ "No, but there won't be much to gossip about with all the cameras watching us." Matt chuckled, but Sarah could see he was tired. "Let's eat a quick lunch and then you can have a nap."

After lunch, Matt had no trouble falling asleep. Sarah took the opportunity to lie down in her room. She had not intended to sleep, but fatigue soon overtook her as well.

Sarah stood at the foot of Matt's hospital bed. He was still on the respirator, and she watched as the doctors worked feverishly over him. Now the doctors were replaced by the men in the park. They held knives in their hands, ready to strike at Matt, who still lay helpless on the bed. One of them pointed their knife at her, then turned to attack Matt. She screamed in terror.

"No! Don't hurt him!"

Sarah's eyes flew open, and she stared at the wall across from the bed. Her breath game in short gasps. It took her a few moments to recognize her surroundings. She tried to reach up and push the hair from her face, but her hand tangled in the throw that covered her as she lay curled up on her side.

"Sarah?" Matt hesitated at her door before walking in the room and coming to her bedside. He sat down and began running his hand along the arm that now lay exposed. "You cried out in your sleep—well, it was worse than a cry."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About two hours. I got up to use the restroom an hour ago and saw you in here. I thought you might be cold, so I covered you up."

Sarah finally pushed herself to a sitting position, putting a hand to her forehead when a wave of dizziness came. "Thank you. Here you are, taking care of me, when I should be taking care of you."

Matt watched her. "You and I both know that you aren't fully recovered from your head injury. And I'm betting you took such a long nap because you aren't sleeping well at night."

"Yes. But before you say anything more, I've already talked with Dr. Kirby twice. You know I hate sleeping pills." She looked at Matt and frowned. "Did I really sleep two hours? How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. But I heard you, so I got up to check on you." Sarah noticed that he had changed from his jeans into pajama bottoms. He now wore a loose t-shirt, instead of the fitted shirt that he'd had on earlier. Matt winced as he shifted his position.

"You look uncomfortable. Let's get you back to your room."

Matt did not protest as Sarah helped him back to his bed. He was trying to wean himself off the pain medication, but it was not an easy process. Dr. Fassbender had tried to urge him to stay on the pills for another week, but Matt was not easily persuaded. Finally he agreed to take the bottle with him.

"You probably need your pain medication. I'm so sorry I slept so long. I should have brought it to you an hour or more ago."

Matt started to say something as Sarah went to get the bag she had brought into his room earlier. He stopped himself. It had been a long day. Showering and shaving was still an effort, then leaving the hospital and riding to the townhouse with Rene had been tiring. _Maybe I should take the pills this time._

"I'll be right back with some water."

After helping Matt with the medication and arranging his pillows, Sarah left the water on Matt's bedside table and went to fix her hair in her bathroom. She relished the time away from the security cameras. As she slowly brushed out her hair and rebraided it, she thought back to the dream. Dr. Kirby had thought she might be feeling responsible for Matt being injured because he was trying to protect her. "That, and the head injury might be making the dream more vivid," he had said. But other than telling her to get plenty of rest, he had had no solution. She sighed in frustration.

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Reading the text once again, Sarah could not help but wonder at the timing. It was as if Agent Smith had waited for Matt to get in the shower so he could see Sarah alone. She waited near her doorway while he let himself in the townhouse. It unnerved her that he had access to the key. _Maybe I should find a way to ask Mom to make sure Grace is the one bringing us groceries._

"Hey, Sarah. Where do you want these?"

_Why can't he just leave them on the counter?_ She walked out to the living room and spoke to Smith over the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining area. "Thanks for bringing those, Brad. You can just leave them on the counter."

Smith stared at Sarah for a moment before trying to find something else to focus on. It left Sarah feeling even more uncomfortable. Her hair was still wet, and she was barefoot in her jeans and t-shirt.

"So, are you doing okay? Are you feeling better?"

_He's just trying to be nice. You've had guys stare at you before. It just seems weird that he began doing this after he found out I was seeing Matt._ She tried to sound cheerful. "I'm much better. Thanks."

"Well, it looks like your mom is making sure you have fresh fruit and vegetables. There's a loaf of bread in there, too."

Forcing a smile, Sarah replied, "Yes. Matt and I like to eat pretty healthy." _He doesn't realize how frustrating it is to have so many details of your life become other people's knowledge._

Sarah searched for something to say so she could turn the conversation away from herself. "I guess it must get pretty boring next door. What do you and Grace do during your shift?"

The agent was dismissive. "Oh, we keep to ourselves. We both keep an eye on the monitors." At Sarah's expression, he tried to cover for himself. "I mean, we make sure there's no unusual activity. Grace likes to read. I read some myself. I noticed you like to read. Maybe we could read the same books and talk about them."

"Sarah and I will have to keep that in mind, Brad." Matt walked into the living room and stood with his arms crossed. His posture and expression did not match his polite tone of voice.

Seemingly annoyed to be caught unaware by Matt, Brad colored a bit and backed towards the door. He directed his remarks to Sarah. "Well, let me know, then. I hope to see you again tomorrow or the day after."

Sarah did not reply, but offered him a little wave as he left. Once the door was shut, she breathed a sigh of relief and went to put the groceries away. She debated whether to thank Matt for his timing or let it go. She could tell he was irritated, and she did not want to make it worse.

"I'll just finish here and help you with your bandage after I wash my hands."

"So he waited until I was out of sight to bring those?"

"Yes."

"Can't you see he's flirting with you?"

Stung by the tone of his words, Sarah turned around to face Matt. He was shirtless, his hair still tousled from the towel—obviously he had just emerged from the shower. Normally she would have found herself physically attracted by his appearance, but instead she focused on his face. "I'm not an idiot, Matt. I was trying to be polite. I was going to thank you for coming out when you did, but I can see you were more angry with me than with Brad. I suppose you took such a quick shower because you want to keep an eye on me."

Sarah wished she could take back the words. At first flinching at her angry tone, Matt's expression had grown contrite as she continued lashing out at him.

"That's not what I meant. I trust you. But I do want to help look out for you."

Sarah went to wash her hands. And it was not just because she needed to dress Matt's wounds. She knew she needed to cool off. Before Sarah could reach for the paper towel, Matt had torn one off and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry. I should never have said anything. It was unfair. Jealousy is an ugly thing."

Turning to face Matt, Sarah took the offered towel. "I know you didn't mean it. Your scars are probably uncomfortable right now and you have a right to be irritable. Brad Smith is a major flirt—I was thinking of asking my mom to find a way to have Grace bring things over when they are on duty."

"He may be harmless, but his behavior gives me a strange feeling in my gut. And I'm glad I can finally be here with you. We still don't know who the mole is. I've been worried about you."

"I'm so sorry I reacted so angrily. I should have just let that comment go."

"And if I'm going to be in a relationship with a lovely-looking woman, I should expect that other men may stare at her sometimes. It's certainly happened a number of times."

"I appreciate the compliment, even if you are biased. For whatever it's worth, I felt like Brad's timing was really intrusive. But I couldn't exactly ask him to leave and come back. I can handle the staring. I try to avoid the flirting. But I don't like to be rude."

"And that's why I love you. You are a sweet person." Matt reached out and touched Sarah's arm.

Sarah blushed at the compliment, but she was also acutely aware of Matt's nearness. "I love you, too. Thank you for saying that I'm sweet. I don't deserve it—especially not right now." Eager to speed up the process of getting him fully dressed, she offered him a quick kiss on the cheek and ducked around him to get to the bathroom where the wound supplies were kept. "Let's go take care of you."

Matt smiled to himself. He knew he was making Sarah uncomfortable, but he had to admit that Brad's attention to Sarah really had made him jealous. Knowing she was physically attracted to him offered Matt a small amount of reassurance when he was feeling insecure. He had grown more certain each day since their attack that he wanted to marry Sarah. _Physical attraction is not the basis for a long-lasting relationship. Loving someone no matter the circumstances is—you know you have that with Sarah. But be honest with yourself, Granger. You like the way she looks at you with your shirt off. _

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Sarah waited until Matt got into the shower, then went into her room and shut the door. She looked at her phone and re-read Deb's answer to her text. "Call me in five. We need to talk."

Sarah was nervous. It was now Tuesday, and she knew Deb would wonder why she had not come back to work. This was a dream job for anyone in Sarah's field. Assistant curator at a Smithsonian museum. It had been a combination of great timing and hard work that had gotten her the internship that led to a permanent position at the International Spy Museum. While the Cold War exhibit had been a fascinating project, Sarah was forced to admit that the steam punk Christmas project was not as interesting to her. _Face it, Sarah. You only got to help with the higher profile project because you had access to some items that no one else could get to. It's time to focus on the other aspects of the job. And they are fun, too. Working with the public. Educational programs. But you don't have a good excuse to not coming in to work today. _

When Sarah had first talked about the safe house with Francine and her parents, she had asked them how she would explain her absence at work. Francine had offered to call Deb—or have Gill Barclay himself call. Sarah wished she had taken them up on their offer. Now it was too late to change her story.

The phone rang a few times before Deb answered. "Sarah. Thank you for calling. I wasn't sure if you would."

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As Matt stepped out of his bedroom, he could see Sarah's door was closed, and he heard her talking with someone on the telephone. He could not hear her words, but he detected hurt in her voice. He went back to his room and waited for her to come out.

On the other side of the door, Sarah was still sitting on the bed, playing with the comforter as she spoke. "Thank you for the offer, Ma'am." Sarah could not think of any other reply.

"I hope to see you by this afternoon—or at least Monday morning, Sarah."

"Good-bye."

Sarah pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Soon her vision blurred with the tears that came. She curled up on her bed and cried silently.

A short time later there was a knock on her door. Although she had stopped crying, Sarah was afraid to answer, knowing her words would come out in a sob. She clutched the tissue in her hand and hoped Matt would think she was asleep.

Matt opened the door cautiously. After seeing Sarah on the bed, he went to sit beside her. He handed her another tissue from the box next to her bed. "Sarah, I heard you on the phone. What happened?" When she did not immediately respond to him, he sat quietly beside her, running his hand gently up and down her arm and over her hair.

"I didn't dress the wound from your chest tube."

"Forget the wound."

"Somebody will see us."

"Why were you crying, Sarah?"

At Sarah's hesitation, Matt bent over to kiss her hair and gently ran his hand up and down her arm again. He waited for her to answer.

For the moment, Sarah did not care about the security cameras. The warmth from Matt's body sitting so closely beside hers and the scent of his after shave was comforting. She knew that she needed to tell him; certainly there was no doubt about how much he loved her. He had a right to know what troubled her. _It's pride, Sarah Stetson. You just failed for the first time in your life. You're lying here and the man you love is trying to comfort you. He knows your heart is breaking. You need to be honest._

"Deb fired me."

Sarah could feel Matt's body stiffen as he sat beside her. "On what grounds?"

"I haven't shown up to work this week. She tolerated the first two weeks I was out, but I don't sound sick to her. My position is 'coveted,' so she is finding someone else who will show up to do the work." Sarah paused. "Well, she said if I came in this afternoon, I could keep the job."

"Oh, Sarah. I'm so sorry. Couldn't Francine come up with some plausible reason for you to miss work? Surely there is a way around this. You've worked so hard. And the Cold War exhibit was amazing."

"She's offered to have me stay on as an intern if I showed up Monday morning. I'd lose my benefits and go back to part-time work. Like what I had before I finished my thesis."

"Maybe you could make that work. You don't have to pay rent, you have no car payments…" Unbidden thoughts flooded Matt's mind. _I wish we weren't here. We could plan our future—get married. Sarah could keep her job. And these tears aren't just because she was fired. Being isolated from family and friends has got to be getting to her, too._

"But I need the benefits." Sarah dabbed at her cheeks with the tissue. "You know what's ironic? After working on the Cold War exhibit, the job didn't seem as exciting anymore. I was spoiled by getting that high profile project. And I hate to sound prideful, but it would be really hard to face everyone there after being demoted." Sarah was quiet a moment. "I am prideful… Oh, this hurts so much." She started to cry again; this time her body shook with the sobs.

Matt continued to sit with her, alternating between stroking her hair and rubbing his hand along her arm as he whispered words of comfort to her.

Finally Sarah quieted. She lay exhausted, afraid her head would throb if she tried to get up.

"Just stay here and rest, Sarah. It's too early for lunch, and you didn't sleep well last night."

"I'm sorry I woke you up with that nightmare again."

"I'm still kind of restless. I was already awake."

"You should have taken your pain medication."

"I'm doing okay right now."

"But you sat on the couch with me last night to watch that movie. And now you've been using your arm too much."

"Let's just take care of Sarah right now."

"We never did put a dressing on your wound."

"I took care of it."

"You did it yourself?"

"Yeah. It's not as hard to keep my arm up anymore and it's almost healed. But I like it better when my hot little nurse takes care of me."

Sarah had noticed Matt watching her as she carefully washed the wound with saline and redressed it every day. They had developed a routine, where he would rest his hand on the towel rack to keep his arm out of the way while Sarah worked. His eyes always held the same look that she had seen when she had found him gazing at her at the museum gala. Sarah had tried to put a label on his expression. It was more than love—not longing so much as confidence. It was as if while he watched her he was imagining something that he was not ready to share with her. Something special about _them_.

As for Sarah, despite the seriousness of the task, she found it distracting when she worked on Matt. _A girl would have to be blind not to notice the muscles in his arms and shoulders._ _Even with his scars, he's gorgeous with his shirt off_. Sarah knew she needed to change her train of thought, especially considering Matt was sitting so close beside her on her bed.

"Hot, huh? Did you know that Elaine is married? Or was that Kensey? Kensey has three or four kids, I think."

Matt chuckled, and Sarah could not help but smile.

"We need to start practicing our dancing again. I'm going to set up the iPod later. We can start with some slow stuff. Like Debussy."

Sarah let out a small laugh. "That really isn't dancing."

"No. But I like it."

Sarah reached up and caressed Matt's arm where it rested against her back. "We should probably get up. This is going to look pretty awkward. No one knows you're just sitting there."

"Who cares? We're not really doing anything."

Sarah sat up and looked at Matt. "You're just as frustrated with these cameras as I am."

Matt shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess I am. I didn't mean to grouch. I'd just like to be with my girlfriend and not wonder who the heck is watching us."

Sarah put out a hand and ran it across his chest. "Thank you for comforting me, Matt." She sighed.

Matt watched her face. He could tell she was trying not to cry again. "Maybe we'll be out of here by Monday morning and you can work as an intern at the museum."

"Maybe. But I'd make more money working at a clothing store or something."

"Sarah, please don't settle for that. Let's take things one step at a time. For now, maybe we can just make the best of this little arrangement. I do like being near you all the time." Matt looked at Sarah. He got up off the bed and held out his hand.

Sarah let Matt lead her into the bathroom, where he took her in his arms. But this time there was no camera to watch them.


	9. Chapter 9

As Matt slowly opened his eyes, he noticed a noise unfamiliar to the townhouse. He had heard it before somewhere else. The treadmill. And someone was going fast. It did not make that sound when he walked on it. He felt the familiar stiffness in his chest and shoulder as he got out of bed, but he was relieved that the pain had lessened over the last few days. He looked at the clock. Eight-thirty. He was surprised that he had slept that late. Running a hand through his hair, he went out to the living room.

Sarah was running at a fast pace, her iPod on her arm and her earphones in her ears. Since the treadmill faced away from the hallway, she could not see him.

Hoping not to startle her, Matt walked into her line of sight.

Sarah startled anyway. Matt quickly reached out to steady her, but Sarah grabbed the rails and righted herself. She slowed to a fast walk and took out her earphones.

"I'm sorry I scared you. You sure you're up to running that fast already? How's your head?"

Out of breath, Sarah did not answer immediately. "I'm doing okay. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's all right. I slept kind of late."

"You probably needed to catch up—you haven't been sleeping well. I was hoping this thing would not be that noisy. I was getting kind of hungry, so I thought I'd better get my run in so I could eat breakfast. I'll be done soon."

"It seems like you slept well."

"I did last night." Sarah started to increase her speed. "I just need another ten."

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Later that morning, Matt was catching up on the news when he heard Sarah's cell phone ringing. Since she was in the bathroom, he went to look at the phone. Seeing it was Lee, he answered the call.

"Hi, Lee. Sarah's drying her hair."

"Hi, Matt. Actually, I'm glad you answered. How are you doing?"

"Better today. Not as stiff. Sarah went for a run on the treadmill. I think she's feeling better, too."

"That's good. Listen, how is she really doing?"

"Well, I should let her answer that."

"I came into the Agency today to see how things were going with the search for the mole and Jimenez. Phillip told me that Sarah seemed to be pretty down yesterday."

"It's about her job. I was hoping she'd call you last night, but yesterday was pretty rough. Have they had any luck finding Jimenez? He was out cold. Surely he's needed some medical treatment? Did they leave the country?"

"Well, we're fairly certain they did not fly on any kind of aircraft. They didn't take public transportation of any kind. There are not enough cameras at the park to see where Marcelo Jimenez went, or who got him out of there. They drove off somewhere. The Monterrey people are waiting to see if they contact any family members. Diego Jimenez hasn't said anything that would help us find Marcelo."

"So we're just dead in the water for now."

"Hang in there, Matt. Something is going to break soon. I can feel it."

Matt debated whether to bring up his misgivings about Brad Smith with Lee, but he heard the bathroom door open.

Coming into her bedroom, Sarah looked at Matt questioningly.

He mouthed to her that it was her father. When she started to shake her head and walk away, he spoke up. "Sarah's here now, Lee. I'll give the phone to her."

Sarah did not take phone right away. She spoke almost desperately. "Matt, I can't tell him."

"Sarah, he's your father. You need to talk with him. Maybe it will help." Matt held the phone out to Sarah.

Neither one of them realized that Lee was with Amanda in Phillip's office watching them on the monitor that featured a split screen view of all the townhouse's interior cameras. They had not meant to invade their privacy. They just wanted to see their faces. As he watched Sarah avoid the phone, he could not help but feel a pang of hurt.

Reluctantly Sarah took the phone and sat down on the bed as Matt went to the living room. "Hi, Daddy."

Since Sarah was on the bed, Lee could no longer see her. "Hi, Pumpkin. Matt said you went for a run this morning. Is the treadmill working out okay for you?"

"Yes. It's just great, Daddy. Thank you for getting it. I know it's been a help to Matt, too."

"He told me the other day he had started walking on it. Listen, Sarah, I should tell you I'm watching the monitor right now. I don't mean to seem like I'm stalking you." Lee's voice faltered a bit. "I miss you, and I wanted to see you while we talked."

Sarah started at this. _Oh no! Daddy must be hurt by the way I avoided taking the phone. I can hear it in his voice._

"Daddy, something happened yesterday. I hesitated to talk with you because… Hey, is Mom there, too? This is going to be hard for me, and I was hoping I would only have to tell the story once." Sarah got up off the bed so her parents could see her.

Lee was relieved that Sarah was being honest. He looked over at Amanda as he put the phone on the speaker setting. "You're on speaker now. Your mom is right here."

Sarah took a deep breath. She felt a catch in her throat as she exhaled. _Don't start crying, now, Sarah. Just get it over with._ "I lost my job at the museum."

The brief silence on the other end of the phone was disconcerting for Sarah. She felt her resolve giving way. She silently cursed her lower lip as it began to tremble. "Um, you can see me, but I can't see you…" Sarah sat cross-legged on the chair under the window and put her elbow on her knee, then rested her head on her hand.

"Oh Sarah, we don't know what to say. I wish I could give you a hug right now. It breaks my heart that I can't be there with you."

Sarah could hear the catch in her mother's voice. Perhaps the silence had been her trying to think of something helpful to say—or maybe they had been 'talking silently' with one another.

"Sarah, if you were let go because you didn't show up to work, maybe Gil can help fix it."

"Daddy, I tried to think of ways that I could fix this. I even contemplated—but only for a minute—running away from the safe house and going in to work. She said if I came in that afternoon, I could keep my job. If Gil stepped in, Deb would never trust me again; he could not tell her the real reason I had not been to work. He would make up some other story, and she'd know I lied. It's too late now, anyway."

"I'm so sorry, Sarah. If only I had stopped you from going to the park…"

"Daddy, you're the one who always says not to dwell on the 'if onlys' and 'what ifs.' We would have had to go to the safe house or they would have found us anyway. Besides, there were things that Deb said—she thought she made a mistake choosing someone so young… And honestly, I wonder if it is the job I'm so upset about, or the idea of being fired."

"But you did such a remarkable job on the Cold War exhibit. I'm so proud of you, Pumpkin."

"We both are, Sweetheart."

"Well, you know that was a special opportunity. Someone with my lack of experience couldn't put together all of the exhibits. But I feel like I've let you both down. You've always been so proud of me. I didn't know how to tell you. And I feel like I've let myself down." Sarah could not stop the tears now. She grabbed a tissue from the box by her bed.

"Sarah." Lee's voice was husky. "You have never let us down. Remember? We told you that the day you told us about your car. And you still haven't let us down. You've been so brave through this whole ordeal. I can't tell you how I proud I was of you when you squared your shoulders and went into Matt's ICU room the first time. You're so young, but you have a maturity beyond your years. I'm so sorry about your job, but only because you enjoyed it so much. I'll always be proud of you, Pumpkin. I love you."

Lee was grateful that no one but Amanda could see him wipe the tears from his eyes.

Now it was Sarah's turn to be quiet. Finally she spoke. Lee could tell she had been crying, too. "I really have the best parents. I love you both."

Reflexively, Amanda put a hand out to touch the monitor. "I feel the same way as your father, Sarah. I am so very proud of you. We are working hard to bring you home. I love you, too."

Phillip, who had willingly loaned his office to his parents, poked his head in the door. Seeing Lee and Amanda's faces, he decided he needed to lighten things up a little. "Are you three done having your cry? I need to have my office back. There's an op coming up this afternoon."

Lee, Amanda, and Sarah all laughed more out of relief from the tension than anything else.

"Just a minute more, Phillip." Amanda turned back to the monitor. "Sarah, how is your food holding up? I was going to have Grace Tanaka bring some things over."

"Oh, good timing, Mom. We still have some things in the freezer, but we could use a few things. I'll text you a list." Sarah paused. "It would be really great if you could send Grace. I don't know how else to say this, but it's kind of awkward when Brad brings things. I hope Grace doesn't hold it against me that I ran off that day. I certainly gave her some grief."

"She likes you, Sarah. I guess she understood, when all was said and done."

"Sarah, does Francine need to speak with Brad?"

"No, Daddy. Please don't tell her I said anything. He was flirting with me and Matt sort of sent him a message the other day. He probably doesn't mean any harm."

At first Lee grinned to himself at the idea of Matt standing up to the senior agent on Sarah's behalf. Brad Smith was a few years older than Matt, and had been with the Agency for five years. Smith's record was impeccable, but there was something about the younger agent that put Lee on edge. Then a thought occurred to him and the smile left his face. "It would be good if you could avoid him, Sarah. You don't want to hurt his feelings." Lee looked at Amanda and put a silent finger to his lips.

Lee stood up and gestured for Phillip to take back his chair. "As I said, I love you, Sarah. Your mom is right. We're doing our best to bring you back home."

"Good bye, Sweetheart."

"Good bye Mom. Good bye, Daddy."

Before he left Phillip's office, Lee took one last look at the monitor. He watched as Sarah went to the living room and lay down on the couch, placing her head in Matt's lap. He turned to Amanda.

She spoke before he could. "You think that Brad Smith is trying to make Matt jealous on purpose. Divide and conquer?"

"Maybe. But not for romantic purposes."

"I think you're on to something. Why else would he take a sudden interest in her? If he's the mole, we need to find a way to prove it before he can do anything."

"Let's get the team together. We can brainstorm—or at least find a way to keep Smith away from the safe house without him knowing we suspect anything."

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Lightning flickered in the darkened sky and a low rumble followed as the rain increased its patter on the window near Sarah's bed. She had found that if she lay at a certain angle, she could look up through the partially open blinds and watch the sky. The caged feeling drifted away for a time as Sarah would let her mind wander in a daydream. It helped to lessen the ache she sometimes felt when she would be reminded of the world outside their townhouse. She started at the sound of Matt's voice.

"Watching the rain?"

"Yes. I hate these closed blinds sometimes."

"Yeah." He waited, hoping she would open up on her own. Finally he spoke again. "You know, Sarah, if there's something on your mind, you can tell me. I'm right here."

"You don't want to hear me whining."

"I love you. I want to know if you're troubled."

Sarah was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. "Sometimes I really miss things. My stuff. My girlfriends. Dance class. My family." Sarah did not think she could say that she missed work out loud. She did not want to cry. Besides, she knew that she did not miss the work so much as the interactions with her work friends.

"You've given up a lot."

"So have you."

"Not as much as you have."

Sarah watched the rain stream down the window pane, creating patterns as drops joined other drops, then split off again. She turned back to Matt and sat up. "Let's see if Phillip can set up a call to your parents. You said you wanted to call them this evening. Maybe we can do a video chat. I'd like to say 'hi' to them again."

"They'd love to talk with you. My mom went on and on about you after they 'met' you last time."

"Really?" Sarah smiled shyly as she got off the bed and followed him to the computer.

"Yeah. They did." He smiled back at her and put his arm around her shoulders as he called Phillip.

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Matt waited for Sarah to get in the shower before he got on the treadmill. He was eager to try out his running legs again, and he was sure that Sarah would fret about making his healing lung work too hard. It had been almost a week since he had first come to the safe house, and going on three weeks since his injury. The more strenuous exercise would be a nice change from his walking. He jogged slowly. His legs felt stiff, even though he had stretched first. After several minutes, Matt could feel the warning pain at his wound site and in his left shoulder. He slowed to walk. _Well, I guess a mile is better than nothing._

He knew he had other motives for getting back into running besides stretching his unused muscles. He was tired of being helpless, and his concern over their safety was growing. They were no closer to finding the mole, and Jimenez had hid himself well.

There was yet one more reason why Matt needed to run—to relieve tension. He had seen signs of anger and frustration in Sarah, and he was beginning to feel them himself. It was not that they did not enjoy being together. They passed their days reading, watching DVDs, and playing board games. In the evening, they would cook dinner together. Afterwards one or the other of them would create a playlist so they could practice their dancing. That was the best part. Holding one another close. It was comforting—and tempting, too. More than once they had ended up in the bathroom sharing kisses, Sarah's hands running through his hair and Matt trying his best to keep his hands from roaming too far. But they were tired of being isolated; Matt knew anger was a natural reaction to their ordeal. He and Sarah had never had any real disagreement except for the brief words over Brad Smith, and he did not want to start having them now.

Matt determined that he would continue running every day. He just hoped his recovering lung could keep up.

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Lee slowed his pace on the elliptical and stepped off. Walking to the window, he looked out across the backyard. Was it only three weeks ago that he had watched Matt and Sarah sparring together on the lawn below? They had been in the safe house that Lee had so carefully arranged for only a little more than a week, but the team investigating Jimenez and the mole had agreed. It was no longer secure. Brad Smith's behavior had grown more suspicious by the day, and while they had no proof he was the mole, it simply was unwise to keep Sarah and Matt in a vulnerable location. Lee had insisted that he and Amanda would be on the team to bring Sarah and Matt to a new location.

"Are you getting in the shower? We have to leave in twenty minutes."

Lee turned around to face Amanda. "Thanks. I'll be right there."

Amanda walked up to Lee and put a hand on his arm, but did not say anything. Looking into her eyes, Lee could read her troubled expression.

"We'll catch them soon, Amanda. I can feel it."

"I just hope no one gets hurt again."

Lee knew that by "no one" she meant Sarah and Matt specifically. "I hope so, too."

"I wish we could have told them we were coming."

"They would have packed up their things—changed their behavior—and it would have tipped off the mole." At Amanda's sigh, Lee wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her hair before moving past her to go to the shower.

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Sarah stood in the shower and let the water run over her. She had put in five miles at a fast pace on the treadmill and had been running so quickly that Matt had commented when she finally finished her cool-down.

"You're pushing yourself pretty hard."

"It's the only real exercise I get now."

"It's more than that. You don't have to prove anything, Sarah."

"Okay, so I'm running off my frustration. I don't want to start snapping at you."

Sarah knew she had been too abrupt; she didn't fail to notice Matt's eyes cloud over briefly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. I'm just worried about you." Matt seemed to back off at that point.

Sarah felt badly for pushing him away. She resolved to make it up to him when she finished showering. She pulled her head out of the water to reach for the shampoo when she heard a noise. It was hard to distinguish, so she stuck her head out from behind the curtain. It was unmistakable now. The treadmill. Matt was running. And it was not a slow jog.

Realization came over her. _No wonder he uses the treadmill when I'm showering. He doesn't want me nagging him. I've been so edgy lately._ Sarah was not sure if she should be ashamed at that thought or worried that he would reinjure his lung. _It's barely three weeks since the surgery. They told him to give it four weeks minimum._ Sarah knew it had just been a matter of time before Matt would tire of the recuperation process. _And he seems worried—my moodiness isn't going to help him open up._ Sarah knew it was time for them to talk. And it was up to her to set a tone that would not shut Matt down.

After her shower, Sarah saw her opportunity. Leaning against the kitchen counter, Matt was reading the newspaper while he cooled down. Her approach surprised him; he did not expect Sarah to come out of the bathroom so soon. He offered her a questioning glance.

"Do you mind if I interrupt? I can come back later."

Matt put the newspaper aside. "What is it?"

"Anything interesting in the newspaper?"

"Nothing really interesting, except we're due for our first big storm of the fall. It's supposed to rain and get cold later this morning—you may want to pull out a sweater. But that's not what you really came to talk about, is it?"

"I want to apologize for being so edgy lately. I practically snapped at you this morning. You meant well."

Sarah knew the conversation was a good idea when she saw a flicker of relief in Matt's eyes. He was trying to cover it out of politeness, but it was there.

"We've both been on edge. Truth be told, I think the treadmill is helping a lot right now."

"Yes. I felt better after that run this morning."

"I'm worried you're pushing yourself too hard. I know you're just trying to relieve tension."

"Of course dancing in the evening helps relieve tension, too." Sarah smiled knowingly at Matt.

He cleared his throat. "The dancing or the good night kisses afterwards?" Matt smiled crookedly at Sarah.

"Maybe both. As long as we keep it under control."

"Yeah. Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"No. I just thought we needed to clear the air. And I needed to apologize." Sarah played with a loose thread on her jeans pocket.

"And?"

Sarah looked back up at Matt. His gray eyes, intense, searched hers. _He's worried again._ "Matt, would you tell me what's bothering you? It's the cartel again, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's the cartel. But it's also us. We've both been on edge. I need to confess that I started running again for the same reasons you are. I was afraid we'd start fighting or something." Matt reached for her hand. "I forgive you, and I'm sorry, too. I love you, you know."

"And I forgive you, my love." Sarah stepped closer and put her arms around Matt.

He returned the gesture, but kept back a little. "You just got out of the shower, and I'm all sweaty."

"It doesn't matter." She put a hand on his chest. "We need to pray more. Not just at night, before we go to bed."

Matt reached out and ran a finger lightly over the scar on Sarah's neck. The stitches were gone and the red line was fading, but it still served as a visual reminder of that day in the park. "We can pray right now. And I need to remember that 'His eye is on the sparrow.'"

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A half hour later that morning, Phillip King had caught up on the latest emails and turned to check the safe house monitors once again. _What the?_ He typed up a few commands on his computer so he could bring up the less frequently viewed monitors for the townhouse next door. _Oh God. We waited too long._ Picking up his laptop, he also grabbed his phone and speed-dialed Francine's number, then ran to the bull pen to get the screens up and running for what was going to be a spur-of-the-moment full-scale operation.

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As she turned off the hair dryer, Sarah was startled by the knock on the door. Matt was just getting in the shower in his bathroom, apparently unaware of the visitor. Rather than answer the knock, Sarah went to her room and grabbed her phone. She had missed the text from Brad. Oh no, not again. _And I thought they were only allowing Rene to bring us things._ She heard the key in the lock. _And I thought they changed the locks._

"Sarah? I brought you some breakfast."

Sarah reluctantly went out to the living room, phone in hand. Brad Smith was standing there, smiling at her, a cup in one hand and a bag in the other.

"Hi Brad. You know, I appreciate the gesture, but it's kind of awkward to have you let yourself in like that when we're getting dressed. Where's Rene, anyway?"

Brad ignored the question about Rene. "I knocked first." He seemed disappointed at Sarah's response to his visit. "I just thought it would be nice to say hello. I know you must get stir crazy being with Matt all the time and never seeing anyone else."

Sarah could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She wracked her brain for some kind of excuse to get Brad to leave. "Well, it was sweet of you to bring the food. I'm almost done with my hair, so I'll eat it in a little bit, if you'd like to leave it on the counter. I'll see you soon." She started to back towards the hallway.

"Well, I'm sorry to intrude. Would you like to take a sip of the smoothie? I want to be sure they made it right. I've seen you make your smoothies, so I tried to have them make it the same way."

Alarmed now at his familiarity and suspicious about the food, Sarah was willing to do anything to get Brad out of the townhouse. She cautiously took the cup from Brad's extended hand and pretended to take a sip. "It's perfect. Thanks." Just then her phone rang. It was Francine.

"Well, don't wait too long to drink it. They don't keep well." Brad smiled at Sarah before turning to leave.

Sarah answered her phone. "Hey, Francine."

"Sarah, if Brad Smith is still there, I'd like to talk with him."

"He just stepped out."

Francine hesitated, wanting to be certain she spoke carefully. She did not want Sarah to become alarmed and tip off Smith. Already agents were on their way. Smith had made certain the ones guarding the safe house were out of commission. Rene Enriquez and Grace Tanaka were lying on the floor of the townhouse next door, apparently unconscious. "Make sure he does not get back in. He was assigned to surveillance across town. He should not be there."

"Truth be told, Francine, he was acting strangely. He brought me breakfast."

"Don't eat it."

"I didn't—I just pretended to take a sip. But he was really pushing me to."

Before Sarah could lock the extra deadbolt on it, the door opened once again to the townhouse. Her breath caught in a gasp and she whispered into the phone. "Francine, the front door is opening. Oh, I didn't get to the lock in time. He's back."

A small cylindrical device rolled across the floor, stopping a few feet from Sarah. A voice inside of her told her to get away. Turning towards the garage door, she could hear Francine urging her to get in the car, but it was too late. A blinding flash assaulted her eyes, and a deafening noise reverberated throughout the townhouse, causing her ears to ring with an unbearably high-pitched whine. Overcome with dizziness, she tried to reach for the sink, but missed and fell to the floor, her phone skidding across the linoleum and out of reach.

Walking into the bullpen as she was speaking to Sarah, Francine almost dropped the phone at the terrible noise coming over the line. It took a moment to register whether there was something wrong with her phone or at the safe house. But the almost simultaneous bright flashes coming from several of the monitors made it obvious that the problem was at the safe house.

Phillip heard the noise from where he sat at the monitors and spoke urgently. "Francine. You must have been on the phone with Sarah. Someone set off a flash bang. Sarah's been compromised—I think it was Smith. He had just left. Oh God, he's in there with her."

"Keep an eye on the monitors. Find out what Granger is doing, and watch your sister—and pull up the GPS tracker we have on the car." She directed her attention to her assistant. "Dava. Scramble some agents. Johnson and Gonzales should not be far away; they were going to the safe house this morning. Let them know that Smith has gone rogue. And try to get the helicopter; maybe the weather will hold."

"Excuse me, Chief. Did you say Smith, as in Brad Smith?"

"Yes, Dava. Smith has turned."

After hanging up his towel, Matt pulled on his pants and was just reaching for his shirt when he heard the noise, unbearably loud even behind the closed door with the bathroom fan running. It was one of the many things he wanted to forget from his two years in Afghanistan. But unfortunately, the memory would probably be with him for the rest of his life. _A flash grenade. Oh God, Sarah_. He had to get to her. He listened at the door. Remembering the shoes he had taken off in the bathroom, he slipped them on his feet.

Opening the door cautiously, he scanned his bedroom and listened again. He thought he heard Sarah moan, the sound coming from the kitchen. _I've got to get to her._ He stepped over to his bedside table and reached behind it for the gun that had been hidden there. Having checked the Glock just the night before, Matt could tell by the weight of the weapon that it was still loaded; Smith had not tampered with it. Creeping up to the doorway, he tried to see out to the living area. There was no movement and no sound. Offering up a quick prayer, he hoped Sarah could somehow get herself to the car—and see well enough to drive. His Army training had taught him to recover quickly from a "flash bang," known for their deafening noise and blinding flash. It was a useful tool for disorienting the enemy without causing damage or, hopefully, injury to the victims. But those who had not been exposed to flash grenades were usually rendered helpless for as long as a few minutes after the blast. With her recent head injury, Sarah might be incapacitated for much longer. _If it had been thrown close to her. _He prayed again. _Please don't let her be hurt._

Just as he eased himself into the hallway, hugging the wall to avoid being seen, another grenade landed just a few feet away. _The b-d heard me._ He dived into the bedroom, but the grenade activated before he could close the door. Now blinded and temporarily deaf, Matt managed to get back to the living area just as his vision was beginning to return. Brad Smith was there, pulling off ear protectors and dumping them beside a pair of goggles. His responses slowed by the blast, Matt could not react before Smith stepped to the kitchen and pulled Sarah to her feet. Her head lolled to one side and her feet dragged as he hauled her to the garage door, which had been propped open. He paused briefly as she retched, but nothing came up.

"Smith. Stop right there. I'm armed. There's no way you can get her in the car without me shooting you." Matt's words were barely audible to his own ears. Sarah did not seem to register his presence.

It was then that Matt saw the pistol in Smith's free hand. He raised it and pressed it against Sarah's temple. Matt did not need to hear the words that Smith spoke. He stood frozen as Smith disappeared through the garage door, dragging Sarah with him.

There was no time to lose. Smith might disable the car's GPS signal. He pulled the cell phone from his pants and ran out the front door. Matt could tell the wind was beginning to pick up, but it was not as noticeable close to the front of the building.

Approaching the front entrance of the townhouse next door, Matt could just detect the sickly sweet smell of some kind of gas. He wracked his brain, trying to remember from where he recognized the odor. Trying the knob, the door was locked. Obviously the agents were down, or they would have been out the door long before. Matt stepped back and kicked at the door with all of his might. It flew inward, and as Matt was assaulted full force with the odor, he recognized it. _It's that gas they used on Amanda when Birol's people took her hostage. Smith got it, too, at the time. Is this some kind of sick message?_ Matt took a deep breath of the fresh outside air and held it. Stepping inside the townhouse, he quickly looked around for Rene and Grace. Rene lay near the door, the keys to his car in his hand. Matt quickly checked his pulse and grabbing the keys, went back outside, leaving the door open so the gas could escape. His hearing still not fully restored; he wondered if and when Smith had driven away with Sarah.

As Matt dashed back out to the Agency sedan that had been assigned to Rene, he was grateful for his partner's quick thinking. _At least he had the keys in hand for me, if he couldn't make it out the door._ Putting the phone on the speaker setting, he speed-dialed the Agency and held the phone to his ear as he got in the car and started it. "This is Agent Granger. The bird has left the nest. This is a flash one priority. I need to speak with Chief Beaman."

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Lee almost pulled the car over but kept driving. At the news that Amanda had relayed from Phillip, he slammed his fist against the dashboard. "Damn it, Amanda! How did he know? He must have known."

"I don't know, but aside from Gonzales and Johnson, we are the only agents close enough to help. Lee, I'm feeling as desperate about this as you are, but Sarah and Matt need us. Smith may have known we were going to move them—we've been checking for bugs, but maybe he planted some kind of sophisticated listening device somewhere."

"Or he may not have known and just gotten lucky. You're right. I need to pull myself together. I'm just getting too old for this, Amanda. And it's our daughter." He turned briefly to Amanda, his eyes stricken.

Amanda reached out her hand, but what Lee needed was an embrace. That was not possible, so they simply clasped their hands over the console. His face now set with the same determined look that Amanda had seen on many a mission, Lee concentrated on maneuvering the BMW along the fastest route towards the safe house.


	10. Chapter 10

Images swam slightly before Matt's eyes and he quickly gulped some more fresh air before closing the car door. He looked around the vehicle, searching Rene's favorite hiding places for any weapons that his partner might have left stashed there. Coming up with only a multi-use tool and a handful of cable ties, he tried not to curse as the Agency section chief came on the line.

"Chief, I assume you know what's going down. The other agents got a dose of the same gas Birol's people used on Amanda last summer. I've got Rene's Agency vehicle and I'm going to try to follow Smith and Sarah." Driving around the building to the other townhouse's open garage door, Matt could see the car was gone, and as expected, there was no sign of Sarah. He looked down the street and saw taillights two blocks away. Flooring the accelerator, he tried to catch up with the quickly disappearing vehicle. _Man, I wish I was in the Charger right now._

"Matt, just sit tight until we can send backup. We have the getaway sedan on the GPS tracker."

"With all due respect, Ma'am, you may have back up on the way, but I'm not sitting still while Smith drives off with Sarah. I'm armed, and I think I have a visual."

Francine could tell by Matt's loud voice that his hearing was still impaired from the flash grenade, but not so badly that he could not understand her. And she had to admit that if he was not far behind Smith, it was Sarah's best hope right now.

"We're going to pull up your GPS and compare it to Smith's. He's a few blocks away from the safe house now."

"What's happening with backup?"

Through Matt's phone speaker, Francine could hear the sound of car horns honking and the occasional screech of a tire. "We've scrambled the helicopter, but with the wind picking up, all flights are grounded. Agency teams were scrambled before the second flash grenade went off."

"You've called Lee and Amanda?"

"They're on their way to you right now. Matt, we can see that you are closing in on them, but they are still a block away. I'm going to keep this line open, and check on the back up. Dava has already notified the local police that we have a pursuit in progress. They are setting up road blocks ahead of you, but you've already turned three times, so we are having difficulty projecting your route."

Matt cursed under his breath as the light turned red and Smith's sedan sailed through the intersection. Matt lost valuable time negotiating through the intersection against the red light.

"Phillip! Francine! Where are they?"

"Three blocks ahead of you, Matt. Hang in there. Wait. He's stopped his car in a parking lot." Matt's hearing was beginning to improve. He set the phone in his lap and finding a break in the traffic, floored the accelerator, hoping to catch up to Smith before he could take Sarah any further.

With every swerve and tight turn, Sarah fought to stay on the car seat, but it was a losing battle. Her head was swimming with dizziness, the two flash grenades having disrupted her equilibrium. Her sight had come back, but her eyes were still light sensitive and Sarah was grateful that the harsh sunlight was being quickly replaced by approaching clouds. Sounds were not completely muffled, but she could only make out the loudest noises. Every so often she retched, but with no food in her stomach, only a little bile had come up as Smith was pushing her roughly into the car at the safe house. Sarah fought to keep from vomiting again.

Suddenly the car turned violently and skidded to a stop. _If we're driving like this, why are there no sirens? Or can I really not hear them?_ Smith jumped out of the car and opened the door to the back of the car, grabbing Sarah and pulling her roughly along with him.

"You should have drunk some of that smoothie. You'd be feeling no pain right now." Smith shouted the words to her as she fought against him unsuccessfully. From out of nowhere, another set of hands grabbed her. When she kicked out, Sarah was hit hard in the face and cuffed with her hands behind her back. The two men shoved her into the backseat of another sedan and jumped in the front seat. Driving quickly away, they almost ran over three passersby who had attempted to come to Sarah's aid.

Matt was still a half a block away when he saw the car careen out into traffic. "Quick, Phillip! Is the Agency vehicle still stopped?"

"Yes. Just up to your right."

"They've got a new car. Someone just pulled out into traffic, driving like a madman."

"They may have changed vehicles."

_No kidding_. Now there was no GPS to help Matt keep track of Sarah. He was on his own. He breathed a prayer of thanks that his hearing continued to improve and his mind had cleared. He continued to follow the other vehicle, finally getting close enough to see the occupants inside. There were two men in the front seat, but he could not see anyone else.

Sarah crouched down, terrified of the man in the passenger seat in front of her. She recognized him from the park. He was ignoring her for the moment, so she pushed herself up. A wave of dizziness overtook her and her head began to loll again with the movement of the car.

From Matt's vantage point, Sarah's movement in the backseat was a mixed blessing. He could see her now, but he could also see that she was still suffering from the effects of the flash grenade. _Please God, protect her._

"I can see her in the backseat, Phillip. I'm turned around here. Where are we headed?"

"You are going north, towards some hills. The road you are on will start to curve. We're hoping to surprise Smith with a squad car or two blocking the road."

Marcelo looked over at Sarah. Despite her swollen and bleeding lip, he could see she was beautiful. "If you don't fight us, this won't have to be unpleasant, chica. I'm sure you'd like to spend some time with me before we bring you to Gutierrez."

"Shut up, Marcelo. I need to concentrate on the road. Besides, you have a disgusting mind."

Marcelo tried to maneuver his arm between the seats and touch Sarah's leg, but it was hard to reach her from the front seat and she kicked out at his hand. Angry, he pointed his gun at her, but a curve in the road threw him again his door. Anticipating the motion of the car, Sarah had hung onto her door handle and got as far away from Marcelo as possible.

"I mean it, Marcelo," said Smith, speaking quietly so Sarah could not hear him. "I don't need you two to have a fight while I'm trying to get us out of here. I think I saw Granger."

Sarah could not make out Smith's words, but she looked back over her shoulder. The car swerved again, so she was forced to face front. She was fairly certain someone from the Agency was following them. Wondering what had happened to Matt, she offered up a silent prayer. _Please keep Matt safe, God._

Fat drops of rain spattered the windshield of the Agency sedan and the pavement began to grow slick as Matt followed Smith along the curving road. "Where are those squad cars, Francine?"

"Last I heard, about a mile ahead of you. As long as you don't turn again. We're trying to keep them from following you so Smith won't get spooked." Francine looked at Phillip, then Jamie, who had joined them soon after he heard Smith had abducted Sarah. No one was willing to say out loud that they feared Smith would get desperate if he knew how close to being cornered he was.

Phillip spoke quietly to Francine and Jamie so Matt could not hear him. "Unless he has some secret route we don't know about, he's going to run into a dead end or a squad car. If he turns around, he has Matt, then our parents."

Francine spoke more loudly for Matt's benefit. "How far out are your parents, Phillip?"

"Lee used a shortcut. Three to five minutes, max. A little more for Gonzales and Johnson. Ten to fifteen for the other Agency vehicles."

"Should I force them off the road soon?"

"No need of that, Matt. Just keep on his tail."

"This storm is really picking up. It's getting hard to see."

Francine, Jamie, and Phillip looked at each other, but did not say anything.

Lee strained to see through the rain, but he could not make out any cars ahead of them. "Are you sure we're on the right road, Amanda?"

"Yes, Lee. Phillip says we are about five minutes, hopefully less, behind. The police have cleared the road, so there are no cars between us and them."

"I wonder if Smith knows he's running out of routes."

"Let's pray he doesn't."

Smith made a sudden left turn onto a small country lane, cursing when Matt followed him.

With the slashing rain obscuring visibility and creating a great deal of noise in the car, Sarah hoped that Jimenez and Smith would not notice her. Sarah was not as dizzy now, and she was determined to do something about her situation. She had worked her cuffed hands underneath her and now, turning her feet inward, had managed to bring her hands to her front. _Good thing I stretch a lot for running._

Craning her neck, Sarah scanned the front seat. Smith's weapon was by his side, loose on the seat, the safety engaged. Jimenez's gun was in his off hand, but he was busy hanging onto the door handle and not paying attention. _It's now or never, Sarah. Just pray the air bags go off and not the guns. And that weight training Matt made me do pays off._

With one quick movement, Sarah reached over Smith's head and used her cuffs to place him in a choke hold. Needing both hands to control the vehicle, Smith could not defend himself. Heading into a turn, the car skidded precariously close to the embankment on one side. Smith overcorrected and sent the car careening into the opposite lane, which to him seemed strangely empty.

Having dropped his gun, which was somewhere on the floor of the car along with Smith's, Jimenez gave up trying to find either weapon and held on to the dashboard with both hands. He cursed at Sarah, who was pulling as hard as she could against Smith's throat.

Matt watched in horror as the car maneuvered wildly from one lane to another. "We're going to have an accident here, Francine. Sarah's trying to overpower Smith. I just hope he and Jimenez don't shoot her before she can get out of the car—if she gets out."

Smith managed to bring the car around the next curve, but he was unprepared for the dead end just one hundred yards ahead. Gasping for air now, his only choice was to execute a bootlegger's turn and go back from where he came.

Sarah quickly pulled her hands up and away from Smith's neck and fell to the floor of the car, bracing herself for either a violent turn or an accident.

It was a combination of the slippery road and the effects of the stranglehold still impairing Smith's driving ability: he did not make the turn successfully. The car slid out of control at a backwards angle towards the side of the road, slamming violently into a tree.

Momentarily stunned by the impact, at first Sarah did not register that the car had come to a stop. Reaching up instinctively to touch the area of painful throbbing on her head, Sarah was surprised to find it wet and sticky. Blood. _Don't worry about it. You've got to get yourself out of this car._

Her hearing still impaired, Sarah could not be certain the front seat's occupants were not a threat until she peeked her head above the seat back and saw that they were disoriented and momentarily stunned from the air bags that had deployed. Reaching with her cuffed hands to the door handle opposite her, Sarah quickly pushed the door open and fell out onto the wet pavement.

At first unaware of the bitter cold, Sarah scrambled to her feet and stumbled down the embankment to the cover of the trees. Her balance still unsteady, she grabbed at the tree trunks for support as she made her way as quickly as possible away from the car, the cold rain beating painfully on her head wound and her bare arms.

The slick roadway made it difficult to brake quickly and avoid the other sedan, but Matt managed to pull his car to a stop about twenty yards away from Smith's vehicle. He grabbed the multi-use tool and cable ties, slipping them into a pants pocket. "I've got to hang up, Francine. It looks like the airbags have gone off in the sedan." He watched as the passenger door opened and Jimenez slipped out of the car and down the nearby embankment. "Jimenez is on the run."

Matt shoved the phone in his other pocket and grabbed the gun. Squinting his eyes against the rain, he ran to the car. Smith, slumped over the steering wheel, was the car's only occupant. Blood smeared the back of his seat and the handle of the rear passenger door. Quickly cuffing Smith to the steering wheel, he ran off after Jimenez.

The icy rain and exertion were already taking their toll on Matt. He ignored the pain from his recent wounds and followed Jimenez's dim trail through the woods.

With her ears still recovering from the blasts she had endured earlier, the only sound Sarah could hear was the rain beating against her head and her breath, which came in short gasps as she struggled, terrified, to get as far away from her captors as possible. Stumbling on the slippery early autumn leaves, she continued to reach out with both hands to tree trunks for support as she made her way through the woods.

Heading the opposite way up the slope, Jimenez was becoming desperate. Disoriented from the accident and his recent head injuries, he was making poor progress. He could hear a pursuer growing closer. Grateful for the gun he'd managed to pick up from the car floor before he'd left the sedan, he crouched down behind a tree and waited.

Matt heard the report of the gun before he spotted Jimenez behind the tree ahead of him. Diving behind some shrubs for cover, he took careful aim and fired at the tree just above Jimenez's head, scattering leaves and bark. Hearing a yelp, he called out. "Toss out the gun and come out with your hands up."

Jimenez pulled the trigger again, but his aim was poor. Matt fired back, once again showering Jimenez with tree bark. "I won't be aiming at the tree next time. Come out now with your hands up."

Jimenez tossed the gun up towards the road above them and stood up. He walked slowly towards Matt, who approached him cautiously. As Matt cuffed Jimenez, he heard the distinctive sound of Lee's BMW on the road above him. At least two sets of flashing lights soon joined it. Matt shoved Jimenez in front of him and forced him to climb the hill, where he was met by two police officers who took charge of the prisoner. "He tossed his gun into the weeds about ten yards from the road." Matt pointed out the general area.

Lee and Amanda ran up to Matt, their hands shielding their faces from the rain. "Nice job taking down these b-s, Son, but where's Sarah?"

"I never saw her leave the car. There was blood. I don't think she came up here." He started to move away, ready to begin his search in the opposite direction.

"Matt, wait." As she handed Matt a poncho, Amanda could see that Matt was already fatigued from chasing down Jimenez and from the onslaught of the stormy weather. "Matt, let the police and the other agents look for her. Your lung…"

He spoke over his shoulder as continued to move away. "I can't sit this out. She's bleeding, and who knows what else might be wrong with her. Smith set off two flash bangs."

Matt ran through the woods, looking for bloody handprints or droplets, but he knew the rain had probably washed any evidence of Sarah's trail away. Ignoring the cold and the pain in his chest, he began shouting her name. Officers searching the woods on the other side of the road did the same. Matt was only vaguely aware of the EMS vehicles that pulled up on the lane above him.

Stumbling along at the top of a small slope near a creek, Sarah could not go much farther. She thought she had heard gunshots several minutes earlier, and now voices, but she feared it might be Smith and Jimenez chasing her. She could not remember having been this cold before. The numbness in her arms and feet combined with her deafness added to her terror. Without warning, her feet slipped on the wet leaves. A scream escaped her lips as she tumbled out of control towards the creek below, finally stopping as her shoulder slammed into a large rock. Sarah was no longer aware of the cold rain as she lost consciousness.

A brief break in the weather improved visibility as Matt made his way slowly through the trees, looking for signs of Sarah. Then he heard the scream. Breaking into a run, he leapt over shrubs and rocks and headed towards the source of the sound.

Matt almost followed Sarah down the slope when he came upon it suddenly. Grabbing a tree trunk to keep himself from falling, he stopped and listened carefully, then scanned the creek bed below him. From the disturbed bushes and leaves, he could see that someone had apparently taken a fall down the slope just a short time earlier. He looked back and forth three times before he saw Sarah's foot, still clad in one of the lightweight slip on shoes that she had worn that morning in the townhouse. _Oh, praise God._

"Over here! She's here!" Matt pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed Lee. "I found her. About one hundred and fifty yards down the road from you, then down an embankment about fifty yards from the road." Matt hung up the phone before Lee could reply and started down the slippery slope, grabbing tree trunks as he went. Matt had a better view of Sarah now. Like a rag doll that had been discarded, she lay unmoving with her clothes torn and bloody and her legs askew. Matt prayed Sarah was still alive.

After parking the BMW closer to Matt and Sarah's location, Lee jumped out. Amanda stopped him. "Lee, you won't be any help to Sarah if you get hypothermia or something." She was putting on her jacket, and managed to hand Lee his.

As if she were in a completely different world from the one at the top of the hill, Sarah could hear a muffled commotion above her. A man was nearby, but she could not register the meaning behind his words, nor determine who was speaking. It was cold. Terribly cold. Remembering Smith and Jimenez, she whimpered in fright and tried to get up, but a shooting pain in her shoulder and unbearable dizziness stopped her. As the unknown person reached her, she shut her eyes and pleaded, "Please don't hurt me. Please."

"Sarah, it's me." Matt realized that Sarah could either not hear him or was too disoriented from her fall to understand. He brought his face near hers and put his hand on her cheek. "Sarah!"

At first flinching in fear against his touch, there was a familiarity about it that caused Sarah to relax slightly. Then she recognized the faint scent of Matt's aftershave, now barely noticeable in the rain. She opened her eyes. "Oh, Matt. Is it really you?" The words came out in a sob.

"Yes, Beloved. It's me. It's over now. You're safe."

Beloved. Matt had called her that once or twice before, speaking it softly in her ear as he had embraced her. It was a name meant for her ears only. Sarah shuddered with the sudden release of tension that had been overwhelming her and closed her eyes against the rain.

Frowning at the angry marks from the cable ties that Smith had used to handcuff Sarah, Matt pulled out the multi-tool and carefully clipped the plastic, freeing Sarah's hands. Gingerly he felt along her legs and arms for broken bones. Probing gently along her collarbone, Matt felt the telltale bump of a dislocated shoulder. Sarah whimpered in pain; her eyes opened, but she shut them again against the rain. Sarah had several bruises and cuts, but the only one seeming to need stitches was the laceration on her head. It was still bleeding, but the cold had slowed the flow. Matt grimaced in anger as he involuntarily traced a finger along Sarah's swollen and bruised lip. _It's a good thing I didn't know about this when I found you earlier, Smith, or you'd have one to match._

"Oh, I don't feel well."

Despite her protests, Matt sat Sarah up and held her while she retched. Nothing came up. Cradling the affected arm against her chest, Matt gently lifted Sarah, partially covering her with the poncho, and began the slow ascent up the more gradual slope nearby. The left side of his chest ached and a sharp pain near his wound site was making it difficult to move. With the wind cutting through the poncho and his thin t-shirt, the cold was almost unbearable. He prayed over Sarah as he struggled up the hill.

At one point her eyes opened all the way. Sarah tried to focus on his face. "Matt."

"Yes."

"He's watching." Sarah spoke briefly, as if the effort was painful. "Love you."

"I love you, too. And He is watching over us."

The rain had finally slowed to a drizzle. Just then he heard another shout from above. Paramedics now stood at the top of the hill with a gurney. One of the paramedics started down the slope.

Matt was shivering uncontrollably by the time the paramedic reached them.

"Hi there. I'm John. I understand you are Agent Granger?"

"Call me Matt." He clenched his teeth to stop the chattering.

"Can I take her for you?"

"I'm pretty sure she's dislocated her shoulder. And she's nauseated."

Understanding Matt's reluctance to pass Sarah to him, John put a hand out to guide Matt the remaining several feet to the gurney, then helped him ease Sarah onto it. Despite their efforts to keep from jarring her, Sarah cried out in pain. Lee and Amanda offered words of reassurance to Sarah as John's partner, Roy, quickly covered her with a blanket. As he took the gurney to the ambulance, John guided Matt along behind. Matt stopped at the door of the ambulance to take off the poncho and was met by Lee and Amanda, their earlier expressions of grief and fear replaced with relief.

Amanda put her arms around him. "Thank you for finding her, Matt."

"She took a bad fall and landed on a boulder. I think her shoulder is dislocated. And she has that nasty cut on her head. I'm not sure if it's the flash bangs or the fall, but she acts like she's had another head injury."

Having helped Roy begin his assessment of Sarah, John was back to attend to Matt. "Agent Granger—I mean Matt—we need to get you off your feet. Dr. Fassbender's orders."

"Go on, Matt. We'll meet you there."

Matt could see that the other agents had arrived. "Smith and Jimenez? Rene?"

"Don't worry. Smith and Jimenez are already on their way to the Agency. Rene came with Gonzales and Johnson, then left with them to help with the armed escort. He'll be fine. Go on."

John put a blanket over Matt's shoulders and followed him into the ambulance, helping him to get settled on a gurney with an oxygen mask before shutting the back doors of the ambulance as Roy got into the driver's seat.

Matt was still shaking uncontrollably as John attempted to take his vital signs. After placing a pulse oximeter over Matt's finger, he grabbed another blanket and covered Matt's lower body, adding to the blanket that was wrapped around Matt's shoulders.

Matt looked at the I.V. in Sarah's arm. Her shoulder had been immobilized with a gauze wrap and John had administered oxygen through a nasal cannula. Now John covered Sarah with an extra blanket and sat by her, keeping an eye on her breathing and heart rate and periodically taking her temperature as the ambulance made the drive to Washington, D.C., where the NEST team awaited their arrival at the same hospital Matt had left barely three weeks before.

When John attempted to scan Matt's forehead with the thermometer, Matt put his hand in the way and lifted his mask.

"Don't worry about me. Just take care of her."

"You won't be any good to her if you collapse from lack of oxygen or hypothermia."

Matt decided not to argue. The paramedic had already been on the radio with Dr. Fassbender, who was worried about his still-healing lung. And he could not remember the last time he'd felt that cold.

John looked at the thermometer. "Man, you're colder than she is. Don't get any more hero ideas for the rest of today, okay?" He checked the oximeter and adjusted Matt's mask. "Sorry, Man. You can get rid of this thing when your numbers go back up." John got on the radio with the hospital and updated Dr. Fassbender on Matt and Sarah.

Matt watched Sarah. She was quiet now and not fully conscious. He was worried about her head injury.

Finally the long ride was over, and the two were wheeled into the NEST section of the Emergency Unit once again. For Matt, it was a reminder only of the day Rene had been shot on the roof. Thankfully they had both gone home that night. Exhausted from the ordeal of the morning's events, the chills that still wracked his body, and the lack of oxygen, Matt fought the tears that threatened to come. He prayed once again, knowing that Sarah would not be going home that night.

Almost all of the NEST rooms were occupied with FBI agents who had been involved in some operation that had not gone as planned. Since most of the injuries involved treatment with ice packs and stitches, Sarah and Matt received the bulk of the attention from the NEST team.

As they were wheeled into a large treatment room together, Heidi Lindsay walked up to Matt. "You must be Agent Granger. I'm sorry about the tight quarters here. Dr. Fassbender has asked that you two share a room until we can clear some of these FBI agents out."

"I don't care about that sort of thing, but Sarah might."

Heidi understood his meaning. "No problem. It will be just like the old emergency rooms. We have a curtain—it's meant for two or more patients."

Soon the two were on hospital gurneys, a curtain separating them. Matt was sorry he had said anything, since he could no longer see Sarah. He prayed silently, then watched and listened. He could only get a glimpse of Sarah's foot from time to time as the curtain moved with hospital personnel walking to and from her bedside. At one point Heidi helped him change out of his wet clothes into a pair of scrubs, but once Matt was on his gurney again, he tried to determine what was happening on the other side of the curtain. Sarah's shoes had been removed and her foot was covered with a blanket. He listened carefully as Dr. Heird examined her. At first the doctor commented to the nurse about Sarah's head injury. A CT was ordered. Then Dr. Fassbender assisted Dr. Heird as they manipulated Sarah's shoulder back into place.

Matt was fairly certain Sarah was not fully conscious when they began the procedure, but she was wide awake by the time they had finished, even though he had heard them discussing some kind of pain medication. He wanted to cry along with her. It was all he could do to stay on his gurney and not go to her. Dr. Heird and Dr. Fassbender spoke kindly to Sarah, but she began to call for Matt.

He went to her then. Pulling off the oxygen mask, he climbed off the gurney and pulled the curtain aside. Normally obedient to the two doctors, Matt ignored their protests this time and went to take Sarah's good hand. "I'm here, Sarah." He brought his face near hers so she could see and hear him easily. He tried not to focus on the bruise near Sarah's mouth.

"Oh, it hurts. My head, my shoulder, everything."

Matt felt his chest constrict. _Don't let her know how upset you are, Granger. Be strong for her._ "I know. I'm sorry, Sweetie." He kissed her hand.

As hard as it was to hear Sarah's whimpering, Matt was grateful she was now speaking clearly to him. He looked up at Dr. Heird, who spoke to Sarah.

"The nurse gave you something for the pain before we took care of your shoulder, but I'm afraid it is still going to hurt for a little while. How is your stomach?"

"It's still, um, queasy." Sarah swallowed. "And I'm so cold. Matt, you're cold, too."

Dr. Heird spoke again. "We can give you something for the nausea, Sarah. It will make you sleepy, though. I will ask Heidi to bring you another blanket from the warmer."

Dr. Fassbender, who had stood by patiently, came closer. "Sarah, Matt needs to let you rest. You can see him later, okay?"

Matt kissed Sarah's hand again. "I love you. Remember, He's watching over you."

Sarah was growing drowsy without the nausea medication's help. "Love you, too. Sparrow, right?"

Matt grinned. "Yeah. His eye is on the sparrow."

Heidi helped Dr. Fassbender take Matt back to his gurney before she went off to get Sarah's medication. The surgeon examined Matt and read over his chart once again.

"Your color has improved and your blood oxygen levels are coming up. You'll be fine with a little more oxygen. I'll have Heidi bring you another warm blanket as well. I want to see your body temperature go up a little more before we release you. We are also going to x-ray that lung. And you'll need to come back in a week for another x-ray."

"Yes, Ma'am. Can you tell me anything about Sarah? Her head injury seems kind of serious."

Dr. Fassbender's face was neutral. "I can't speak for Dr. Heird. They will know more when the CT results come back. Until then, you can think good thoughts."

"Or pray."

"That, too." Heidi came in and took Matt's temperature once again while Dr. Fassbender made notes on his chart. Once Heidi had finished, Dr. Fassbender looked at Matt. "You took a big chance today, Matt. Your lung could have collapsed again. You do not want to develop a chronic condition."

"I'd do it again."

Dr. Fassbender only smiled. "I guess I can understand. But this has set you back a week or two. I want you to call me if you have any symptoms. And I mean it—call me right away. For now, I want you to rest for two days. No exertion—just sitting or lying down. And no exercise for a week."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."

"Don't leave here until I discharge you. As I said, you need a little more time with the oxygen." She started to leave when Matt stopped her.

"Please tell Dr. Heird that I'd like to know how Sarah is doing. I'm sure she's talking with the Stetsons, but…"

"I will, Matt." Dr. Fassbender smiled at Matt again before she left.

A short time later the orderly came to take Sarah for her CT scan. He poked his head in and spoke to Matt. "Heidi told me to tell you that we'll bring her back soon. Then you're next."

Matt nodded and watched as he wheeled Sarah away.

Sometime later Lee walked into the NEST unit. He stopped to check on Matt, who was lying quietly, listening to the sounds from Sarah's bed. Matt worried that she was not talking. He had only heard Amanda's voice while Dr. Heird stitched Sarah's laceration and examined her other wounds.

"Hey, Matt. Dr. Fassbender says you'll be out of here pretty soon."

"No one will tell me how Sarah is doing. Amanda came in and talked to me a couple times, but…"

"Well, she had the laceration on her forehead. And they set her shoulder. It should heal up just fine in a couple of weeks."

Matt closed his eyes at the memory of them setting her shoulder. "I know all that. Why won't anyone tell me why she is so quiet? She spoke to me in the woods. She was awake earlier."

Lee pulled the curtain aside and checked on his daughter. "She's in and out, Matt—she's very sleepy, like the last time." He looked down, as if he was searching for words. "They want her to stay at least a couple of days just to be sure everything is okay. It's a serious concussion and she could still have more swelling, but Dr. Heird said she is holding her own at this point. You know she hit her head in the car, then fell down the hill. Two concussions in one month is not a good thing, I guess. And the flash grenades did not help. At least Dr. Heird said her hearing should be back to normal in a day or two. There's no damage to her eardrums."

Matt thought he heard Amanda make a sound at the mention of the concussions. Lee rolled his eyes in response, then leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, "I had a couple of concussions back in the day. Amanda could never get me to rest long enough to recover properly—at least in her mind."

Amanda snorted more loudly this time.

"I guess we Stetsons have hard heads, though. You'll get to see her soon, Matt. She'll be going to a regular room after Dr. Heird is done."

Matt watched Lee. Despite his attempts to lighten the mood, Matt could see that Lee was struggling.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get to her in time."

"You didn't have a chance, Matt. It wasn't your fault. Smith had planned this for some time. And you did help her. You found her and brought her to the paramedics. They say that if she'd been out there much longer, it could have been pretty serious."

"I prayed a lot."

"Well, keep praying, Son."

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Matt sat back in the lounge chair. It was much like the one Sarah had often curled up in during his own stay at the hospital. But he could not find a good position. He wanted to hunch over to warm himself, but it was too uncomfortable to sit like that for long. While his lung was mostly recovered from the stress he had imposed on it earlier, Matt still felt cold despite the sweater and leather jacket he now wore. He was alone in the room except for Sarah. While she slept peacefully, finally warm under her blankets, there were several visual reminders of her abduction. A bandage covered the stitches on her temple, and Matt was certain there were similar bandages on Sarah's hip and arm. Several bruises had formed where Sarah had collided with the rocks in the creek bed. The angry marks on Sarah's wrists from the handcuffs were fading. Her hair was still matted and dirty. But the most disturbing mark was the cut on Sarah's mouth, which was still swollen and bruised from where she had been struck.

Until five minutes ago, Lee and Amanda had kept the vigil with him, leaving only when Lee had insisted Amanda eat something and get some rest. When Rene and Patti had come with the clothes, they had ended up bringing Matt dinner, too, since he refused to leave Sarah's hospital unit. He thought back to his conversation with Rene in the waiting room when Patti had gone to get him sandwiches.

Rene gestured to the clothes Matt had changed into. "I hope these will work for you. You said the blue sweater and your leather jacket. And these jeans. I made Patti help me. And she insisted on leaving everything just like you had organized it. You are such a neat freak. It about drove me nuts."

Matt tried to smile. He was weary. "It was nice of you guys to bring me the clothes."

"That's what partners are for."

Matt looked at Rene. "That was good thinking with the keys."

"I knew you'd be looking for them, if Smith took the car. We saw Jimenez drop him off at your townhouse, but before we could react, the gas canister blew with a timed detonator. And I guess we were idiots for not finding it before it went off. Thanks for leaving the door open. I must have come to right after you took off."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah. The paramedics gave me a little oxygen, then I tried to come after you and Sarah as soon as I could. I had to wait for Johnson and Gonzales to swing by and pick me up. Grace had it worse than me so she went back to the Agency."

"I'm sorry."

"Why should you be sorry? Smith is the… Well, I know you don't like swearing." Rene moved to get up, then stopped himself. "You know that Smith tried to drug Sarah, right?"

Matt's head shot up at this. "No."

Rene looked guilty. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to say."

"It's too late now. Tell me."

"It was temazepam."

Matt sat back in his chair, sickened at this new revelation. "I guess he and Marcelo…"

"Don't go there, Matt. It's a sedative—he was probably trying to make it easier to keep her from causing trouble. And you know they never had a chance to do anything to her."

"It's a date rape drug, Rene. And it would have made the effects of the flash grenade even worse. The drug alone could have killed her."

"Well, if she had any, it was only a sip. The cup was full, but the straw had been used. Francine had the lab pass on the information to Dr. Heird. You would have heard if Sarah had any in her system."

Matt ran a hand through his hair. "This guy is an animal."

"We're throwing the book at him. He broke so many laws today—on tape—that there's no chance he'll ever get out of prison. The laced drink just adds to the evidence."

Soon after, Patti had appeared with the sandwiches, but Matt was no longer hungry.

In the hospital room, Matt watched Sarah sleep. _Oh God. She's been through so much. Please heal her._ Overwhelmed and exhausted, Matt could not stop the tears. Finally he wiped them away. Removing his shoes and jacket and covering himself with the blankets from the nearby chair, he finally found a comfortable position in the recliner. It was not late, but he could feel sleep overtaking him. His eyes drifted closed.


	11. Chapter 11

Peering into the gray early morning light of the unlit room, Sarah took several moments to erase the confusion from her foggy mind and get her bearings. Someone had slept in the recliner chair near her bed—blankets had been left there. But she was alone in the room. As she moved to stretch her legs, she was painfully reminded of the bruises that covered them and the rest of her body. Her hair felt stiff and uncomfortable. She reached up to touch it and realized it was filthy.

Slowly the events of the previous day began to filter into her mind; she tried to process them all. The most vivid memory was Matt's face, hovering near hers. He had called her Beloved. The cold rain was beating down upon them unmercifully, but Matt had managed to offer her a little protection as he tried to block it. But there had been pain—both in his face and in her body. Something had happened to her shoulder, and it had been agonizing when something jolted it. A mild ache was all that remained, and she lifted the sheet to take a look at her sling. The movement caused her head to throb, and she lay her head back on the pillow. Reaching up to feel her hair again, she determined that she would get to the bathroom and wash it before anyone else saw her.

Slowly she raised herself up to a sitting position, gripping the bedrail until the dizziness passed. She reached for the robe that had been left on her tray table, somehow managing to poke her good arm through the sleeve before wrapping the rest of the garment about her. Using the bed and the walls for support, she made her way to the bathroom.

As Matt hurried down the hallway, he was relieved to see that Sarah's doorway was still dark. He had been so hungry when he had awakened a half an hour earlier that he had been almost nauseated. After a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, he was ready to resume his vigil.

But Sarah's bed was empty as he entered the room, and her robe was gone. As he turned around to check the hallway, he spotted Sarah in the restroom. She made no sound as she gripped the railing, apparently unable to move. He quickly went to her side.

"Sarah." He spoke gently as he put his arms around her. "You should still be in bed."

"I had to go the bathroom. And my hair is disgusting." Sarah's weight shifted against him as she allowed him to hold her up. Matt was grateful that Sarah's hearing had improved.

"But you can hardly stand. You should have called the nurse."

"I guess I wasn't thinking straight. But I did go to the bathroom on my own. I hate asking the nurse."

"Let me get you back to bed."

Sarah held onto the railing. "Please, Matt. I want to wash my hair."

Hesitating, Matt considered Sarah's plea. The manner in which she still held onto the railing showed her desire to have some control over her life. He knew she wanted to bring back some form of normalcy to her world. He could simply pick her up and carry her to the bed. But would that be the loving thing to do?

"Sarah, you have a bandage right near your hair line. It needs to stay dry."

"Let's just take it off. It's been long enough—the stitches can get wet."

"Do you think you could hang onto the sink if I helped you? You only have one good arm."

"If you don't help me, I'm going to do it myself."

Matt could not help but grin to himself. "Let me see what we can use for shampoo."

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Walking into Sarah's room, Amanda held up her finger to her mouth and gestured to Lee. Sarah was asleep, as she had been the night before when they left, but she was wearing her robe and her hair appeared to have been freshly washed. A tray holding dishes of partially-eaten jello and toast sat on Sarah's tray table. Matt, still dressed in the clothes Rene had brought him the day before, was dozing in the chair.

Amanda looked at the bag of toiletries she held and smiling to herself, set them down as quietly as possible on the counter.

Opening his eyes at the sound, Matt quickly perceived Amanda and Lee standing in the room and got up. They followed him into the hall.

Lee was the first to speak. "She must be doing better—the nurse got her up?"

"I went to the cafeteria for about twenty minutes and when I came back, Sarah was in the bathroom. I tried to get her to go back to bed, but she was determined to wash her hair."

Amanda offered Lee a knowing smile. "She reminds me of someone. At least she's in bed now."

"She didn't have much choice. She was so dizzy I had to carry her. She was exhausted."

"Didn't Dr. Fassbender tell you not to exert yourself?" Amanda could not help being motherly.

Avoiding her eyes, Matt was sheepish. "Well, she doesn't weigh much."

"Did you get enough to eat for breakfast? I brought you something." Amanda waited for Matt to sit down on a chair in the hallway before she handed him a breakfast taco. "There are two more in the bag."

Unwrapping the foil, Matt took a look at it. He had told Sarah once that he loved living in D.C., but he missed some of the things of Texas. Breakfast tacos were on the list. Not long after that, Sarah had surprised Matt by researching how to make them herself. "Oh wow. I guess Sarah told you how I like mine." He took a bite. "It's great. I guess I'm still pretty hungry—I didn't eat much yesterday. Thanks for thinking of me."

Lee grinned. "It's her specialty—doing for others." He looked at Amanda. "Since Sarah is still asleep, how about I go ask the nurse when Dr. Heird is due back?"

As Lee walked down the hall to the nurses' station, Amanda turned to Matt. "I think you should know that we're both so grateful for the way you've cared for Sarah these past few weeks. Especially yesterday."

"She took care of me. And I was just using my Army training. Had a few buddies go down during my time in Afghanistan."

"Well, perhaps you took care of one another. I know it was awkward at times, but we were both impressed by your strength of character, Matt. I believe Francine and Gil will probably be talking with you when you are back on duty."

"I suppose we'll be debriefed today."

"You will. Dr. Heird will decide if Sarah is up for it."

"Did she sleep this much the last time?"

"She did for a day or two. Try not to worry, Matt. I think she'll recover just fine. She's fighter, like her father."

"And her mother."

Hearing Lee's voice, Amanda watched him walk up. He spoke to both of them. "Dr. Heird will be here in a half hour."

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

For the first several days after her release from the hospital, Sarah was still not well enough to live on her own—the dizzy spells made even the most mundane tasks difficult. She spent most of that week in bed or on the couch in her parents' den.

Enjoying the freedom and privacy of living in his apartment once again, Matt had found the experience to be bittersweet during his first week there. He missed Sarah terribly at times, particularly first thing in the morning and again at night before bed. The first few days he visited her at her parents' house, Matt found himself sitting with Sarah while she slept. Although he was offered an open invitation to visit the Stetsons whenever he wished, he felt it was intruding to stay for more than a few hours at time. Still, Amanda sent food home with Matt every time he visited. One day, Amanda tried to encourage Matt to stay longer.

"Matt, you know we are happy to have you stay as long as you like. Sarah seems to perk up when you're here."

"But her friends are coming by today…"

"You could stay to visit with them."

"I think Sarah's been wanting some time with her girlfriends. They don't need a guy here."

"I guess I can see your point. But come back for dinner. I'm making meatloaf."

Matt grinned at that. "Okay—I do love your meatloaf. I have a couple of appointments this afternoon. I'll come back after that."

There was another reason Matt had not been able to stay by Sarah's side all day long. He needed to heal, too. While his lung was doing well, the stress and mental anguish of their attack in the park and Sarah's abduction three weeks later had taken its toll on Matt. While he had found his visits to Dr. Kirby somewhat irritating despite their helpfulness after Rene's shooting, Matt was almost glad for his daily appointments with Dr. Kirby after Sarah's abduction. And his visits to his pastor helped, too.

Now it was early Friday morning, three weeks after the abduction. He would be going back to work on Monday. Matt lay on his bed, waiting for his breathing to gradually slow. The nightmare had not been as vivid as the last one three nights earlier. He prayed silently to himself, then rolled onto his side. _You need to get some more sleep, Granger. You don't want to be tired for your day with Sarah. _He closed his eyes, but his mind went to their date of the evening before.

Excited to be taking Sarah for their first evening out in six weeks, Matt had found himself bounding up the stairs of Sarah's apartment, despite the fine suit he wore and the bouquet of fall flowers in his hand. And Sarah had opened the door before he had had a chance to knock. It was a habit that endeared Sarah to Matt—and one he no longer took for granted.

"I love it when you're there, waiting for me." The door closed and the flowers in water, Matt held Sarah in his arms.

Sarah blushed and looked down, suddenly shy. "I guess I'm excited to see you. And I want you to feel welcome." _She looked so beautiful like that, in that dress. It was the same one she wore on our first date._ Matt opened his eyes and looked at the photo on his nightstand. He could just make it out in the dim light. He was wearing his expensive blue suit and she wore the black dress with the small ruffles along the neckline. He closed his eyes again and continued to remember the evening before.

They enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Mezza Luna, then went back to Sarah's to dance. As the evening had ended, they swayed slowly to their favorite piece, Debussy's "Clair de Lune." Matt was not sure how long they stood together afterwards. With no cameras fixed upon them in the privacy of Sarah's apartment, they had enjoyed the kisses and their embrace. And Matt had desperately wanted to stay. He did not tell Sarah how he felt. But the certainty that he wanted to marry her had been growing since before the exhibit opening. And since they had spent that week in the apartment together, it was becoming more and more difficult to be away from her. Not just because they had promised one another to wait until marriage to make love, but because he wanted the companionship of sharing a bed with her every night. _I just want to be with her at night. Hold her. Watch her sleep. Not drive home to my apartment alone. I want to build a life with her—not continue to live without her._ Matt sighed and once again tried to relax and go back to sleep.

Sarah's eyes opened to the semi-darkness of her room in the apartment. She stretched, then smiled, remembering that Matt would be coming to make her breakfast. When he had suggested it, she almost laughed, wanting to insist that she could make herself a smoothie now, especially since Dr. Heird had said she no longer needed the sling. But something in his expression stopped her. It was not just that they missed their daily breakfasts together. Sarah knew that while the traumas of the past several weeks had terrified her, she had not experienced the level of anguish Matt had. And he had been there as she recovered, even through the first several days, when Sarah had wanted only to sleep so she could avoid the pain and dizziness she felt whenever she moved. Finally she had been well enough to sit at the table. Sarah had joked one night as they ate dinner with her parents that it had been a gift to have an addled brain part of the time, but no one had laughed with her; Matt even left the table for several minutes. Sarah had finally gone to the living room to find him. She remembered their conversation.

"Matt. I'm sorry."

"Just give me a minute, Sarah."

She sat down beside him, adjusting her sling as she settled on the couch. He tried to turn his face, but she put up her free hand and gently cupped his cheek. "You're crying."

He hugged her fiercely then. While he was not hurting her, it was not Matt's usual gentle embrace.

"Does it help to talk with Dr. Kirby?"

"I think so. And praying with our pastor. I haven't told him any details. Just the usual canned story about our 'accidents.' It's just that some things trigger flashbacks."

"I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You were so miserable until a couple of days ago. And it's getting better. Just give me some time."

"Would it help if I came with you?"

Matt seemed to brighten then. "I'd love it if you came to talk to the pastor with me. Dr. Kirby suggested we could spend part of my session talking with him together, too, if you were willing. He wants to see you by yourself, too."

"I can do all that. Just make the appointments." Sarah looked into Matt's eyes. He had stopped crying, and the troubled expression was replaced with one of love. She kissed him on the cheek, but he put his hand to her face and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, too."

"I know."

That had been almost two weeks ago. At first Sarah had not been prepared for the impact their sessions with Dr. Kirby would have on her. She was grateful to visit their pastor afterwards, then go to either her apartment or Matt's to rest.

Now the sessions did not take such a toll on Sarah, and Dr. Kirby had said they were ready to switch to weekly appointments. And today they were finally going to celebrate her mother's birthday. It was two weeks late, but no one, especially her mother, minded.

Sarah had just finished dressing when her phone began to ring. Prepared to offer Matt a good morning greeting, she was startled to see the call was from Francine.

"Good morning, Francine."

"Good morning, Sarah. I hope I'm not calling too early. I know you're still recuperating. But I wanted to talk before I got to the office."

"I was already up. What's going on? Do you need me to come in for something?"

"Actually, no. Well not today, anyway. Dr. Kirby thought you might be ready about a week from now."

"Dr. Kirby?"

"Gil Barclay, Dr. Kirby, and I had a meeting last night before we left the office. I almost called you on the way home from work, but I didn't want to disturb you and Matt. Your dad said you went on a date."

"Yes! It was nice. Our first real date in six weeks." Sarah's eyes clouded over briefly, but she forced herself to concentrate on the happy memory of the night before. Except for the seasonal difference in the flowers Matt had brought to her, it had been a repeat of their first date months before. They even wore the same clothes as they had on that night. Except this time they had danced in her apartment, not her parents' living room. "We dressed up and went to Mezza Luna."

"Nice. I'm impressed." Sarah could tell by Francine's tone of voice that she really was impressed. "Did he take you dancing afterwards?"

"Sort of."

Francine laughed. "What does that mean?"

"We like picking our own music. We came back here."

"A ha."

"Fran-cine."

Francine laughed again. "You sound just like your father when he says, 'A-mand-da.' I'm glad you are feeling better, Sarah. But that's not why I called."

"So, why did you call? You had that meeting last night, then obviously called my dad."

"Yes, well, normally I don't call the recruits' parents, but this was a notable exception. I thought I owed it to your parents to warn them—and make sure your dad wouldn't blow his top. Your mom was not a bit surprised I called. Of course."

"Recruits? Are you saying you're recruiting me?"

"We don't always get to see ahead of time what a candidate might do under duress, but you have demonstrated on several occasions that you are quite capable of handling yourself, both on your own and with backup. Of course we hope you'll never be put in such grave danger again, and we would make sure you received proper agent training."

"Agent? Francine, after what I've been through, I'm not sure…"

"I just said the training. Your education is more suited to Analysis. And Jamie is in need of the help. Look, Gil Barclay and I want to meet with you next week—Dr. Kirby thought Friday would be good. He'd like to interview you and determine for certain if this idea would work. He's been wanting to talk to you since August. Now that things in your life are settling down, we all felt this was a more appropriate time. We'll have a plan all worked out by then and you can decide what you think after we've presented it.

"But won't people be upset that you're hiring another Stetson?"

"Let me worry about that. And oh. Gil doesn't like to hire people who are desperate for work. He talked your old boss, Deborah, into hiring you back full time. You should be hearing from her today."

"What?" Sarah sat down hard on her bed. "I don't get it."

"He wants you to work for us because you want to. Not because you need to. He told her what you'd been through, and she felt terrible for firing you. And he told her you were on doctor's orders to rest for at least two more weeks, just to make sure you had time to decide."

"He told her what I'd been through? I haven't even told my sisters-in-law everything. Matt's parents don't even know."

"He didn't say it was the cartel. Or that it was related to the intelligence community. He said it was a police matter, and to please keep it hush-hush. He changed a few of the details to fit the story you told Amy and Jennifer."

"Okay." _But I don't really want to go back to the museum after what happened. And after Deb fired me. Even if she does feel 'terrible.'_

"Sarah, I have to go. I'm due in a meeting soon. I'll see you next Friday. Tell Matt I'm looking forward to having him back in the office next week."

After ending the call, Sarah remained seated on the bed. It was Matt's second knock that brought her to her senses. She hurried to the door when she heard him calling her name.

"I was just getting ready to pull out my half rake and pick the lock." Matt looked at Sarah, an expression of concern on his face. Her hair was still damp—it was unusual for Sarah to leave her hair wet on a cold day. He could not read her expression. "Did I misunderstand your text? I thought you said that you were out of the shower and to come on over. I can wait on the couch while you finish drying your hair."

Sarah knew from their sessions that Matt needed her patience and reassurance at the moment. She felt badly for worrying him. "I'm sorry I did not answer the door right away. I got a phone call after I texted you."

Matt realized he had worried unnecessarily. Again. It was going to be a slow process overcoming his tendency to be overprotective of Sarah. _At least she understands, Granger._ He sighed. "And I overreacted. I'm sorry, too."

"You're doing it out of love. And honestly, I guess I'm still zoning out a little. I didn't realize you were knocking at first." Concerned once again at her last words, Matt started to say something. Sarah stopped him, eager to change the subject. "I didn't tell you who the phone call was from."

"Who?"

"Francine. But I'm hungry. Can I tell you about it while you make breakfast?"

"Sure." Matt started to move towards the kitchen, when Sarah put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"We didn't say good morning to each other."

Matt smiled crookedly at her before taking her in his arms.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Matt watched Sarah walk out of Francine's office and up to his desk. He tried to read her face, but had no luck. "How did it go?"

Sarah did not answer immediately. She glanced at Rene, who was trying to mind his own business at the desk next to Matt's. "Can you leave for lunch?"

"Sure."

Matt got up from his desk and grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his chair. The early November weather was still mild, so neither of them needed overcoats as they exited through the Georgetown foyer and to the street. With difficulty Matt refrained from asking about the meeting, instead reaching for Sarah's hand as they walked to the delicatessen.

Once they had their lunches and had seated themselves on their favorite park bench, slightly hidden from the prying eyes of other agents, Sarah finally spoke.

"They officially offered me the job."

"Isn't that good news? You were so quiet, I thought it hadn't gone well." Matt contained his excitement, unsure of Sarah's mood.

"It depends upon how you see it. I told them I had to talk with you about it first."

"I thought we had. Where did they offer you a position?"

"That's just it. They want me in Analysis, but Francine and Gil agreed that I need to 'do my time' in the field first. Six months minimum, working under Wong. Then I can go work for Jamie. He's taking over the department."

"Good for him. I should think you two would get along well, too. You're pretty close."

"Francine said the same thing. You know the drill, though, for rookies. I'd be working weekends a lot. All night surveillance. And I have to do as much of that as possible. I don't want to be the butt of favoritism rumors."

Matt moved closer to Sarah and put his arm around her. "You know, I'll have to work more weekends again now, too. I've been working with your parents so much, I haven't been doing my share. Maybe we can ask for the same weekday off."

"And I'm sure we'd never be paired together. You have a partner."

"I don't have enough seniority to train a rookie on my own, yet. Officially that is." He chuckled a little.

"I'm sure you'll want to help me practice my hand-to-hand skills, among other things." Sarah made a face.

Matt eyebrows shot up. _She's talking about work, Granger. Don't let your mind go there._ Matt couldn't help the small smile that came to his face as his plans for that Saturday came to mind once again. He turned his thoughts back to their conversation. "Well, I was asked to help with hand-to-hand instruction in the future."

Pulling away from Sarah, Matt crooked his finger under her chin, turning her face to his. "It's only six months, Sarah. The question I have for you is, is this what you want?"

Sarah looked at Matt for several moments. He watched her eyes as they began to shine. Her face lit up as she spoke. "You know, I think I've wanted to do this ever since I was a girl, and I first found out about what my parents really did for a living. I know my mom is a top agent, too, but I sort of worshipped my dad for a long time. You know how girls can be with their fathers. My mom has always seen it as making the world a better place for her kids and other peoples' families. I really like that idea."

Matt grinned at the image Sarah had conjured up of herself as a young girl—and at her enthusiasm. "Then I think you should jump at the chance. I won't lie to you. I'll worry about you—a lot." Matt grew sober. "But honestly, we've seen more danger in the last few months than most rookies encounter their first year or more on the job. You might be safer as an agent. More training." He picked up the last of his sandwich, then stopped before he took a bite.

"Will you be able to take off the week of Thanksgiving? It's only two weeks away."

Sarah smiled at Matt's apprehension. "Don't worry. I mentioned that first thing. I won't start my classroom training until the next class, which begins in mid-January. I won't officially be hired until the first of December. I guess Leatherneck is coming back as a consultant just so he can train me with firearms right away. He's afraid I'll be like my mom."

"Well, I don't know about your mom, but your dad has quite a reputation with small arms. Maybe you inherited his talent…" Matt decided not to mention the report he had reviewed of their attack in the park. Despite the duress Lee had been under, his bullet had hit Luis Santiago in the center of his forehead. There was no question his aim was still accurate.

Sarah watched Matt put the last of his sandwich in his mouth. She waited for him to finish chewing before she spoke again. "I guess it comes down to this. Can you handle having an agent for a girlfriend? I think you know that you are more important to me than any job, Matt."

Matt stared at the ground, not trusting his voice. Finally, he looked at Sarah's face and spoke earnestly. "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you feel that way about me, Sarah."

Sarah waited while he gathered his thoughts.

"Honestly, Sarah, you've been the most important person in my life almost since the day we met. If you had told me a few months ago—even a few weeks ago—that you wanted to be an agent, I would have said, 'No way.' Partly because the unpleasant parts of being an operative seemed to disturb you too much. And partly because I wanted to be the one protecting you.

"A lot has changed for you since then, Sarah. You were already mature, but you've grown and changed. Francine recognizes that, and I need to as well. Loving someone means you don't hold them back. You encourage them to do their best at their calling. You've heard the pastor say that on Sunday mornings, and I know it's true. You did a great job at the museum, Sarah, but I think you have found your calling in the intelligence business. If you want to work for the Agency, you need to do it. God will work things out between you and me."

Finally Matt stopped and looked at Sarah. Her expression gave him the courage to make one last remark. "Just please go into Analysis as soon as they will let you. We've been through hell the last month or two." Matt ran his hand through his hair. "I know it won't be like that most of the time, but…"

Sarah put a hand on Matt's arm. "I don't want to work in the field. I know people say I could change my mind, but I like what Jamie does—I want to be an analyst, not a field agent. I think I've seen enough to know for sure."

"You have." Matt put his arm around Sarah again and held her against him. A sudden vision of Sarah's bruised body lying in the rain like a discarded rag doll flashed unwanted in Matt's mind. He shuddered at the memory.

Sarah wrapped her arms around Matt. She pushed any unwanted memories from her mind and concentrated on the man who sat with her. "I love you, Matthew Granger."

Matt chuckled. "My mom and the lady at the bank are the only people who call me that."

"I love the name Matthew. It was my grandfather's name. Matthew Stetson."

"I never knew that. Another coincidence."

"I don't think it's a coincidence."

"No, it isn't. I think God brought us together, Sarah." Matt stopped himself. _Save it for tomorrow. Follow the plan._

Sarah tried not to react. Something in Matt's voice made her wonder if he had intended to say more.

"I hate to say this, but I need to get back soon. I have a pile of paperwork to finish if I'm going to spend some time with my best gal this evening."

"You still won't tell me what we're doing tomorrow."

"You'll find out then." Matt pulled away from Sarah and started to gather their trash. "What are you going to do with yourself this afternoon?"

"I am going to take my beautiful new car for a drive. Do you know that I have never really enjoyed it?"

"Where to?"

"I don't know, exactly. Probably not far. I want to clean my apartment. Then I want to make a nice dinner for us."

Matt started to frown, then stopped himself.

Before he could say anything, Sarah rested a hand on his cheek. "I know what you're thinking. I've driven back and forth to New York on my own before, and this will just be a short trip. I'll have my phone. You can track my GPS signal if you want to."

Matt had to laugh. "I shouldn't be worrying so much anymore, I know. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Besides, I'd get into all sorts of trouble if I tried to track your signal. We can only use that technology for ops and emergencies, Agent Stetson."

"Hah. You just got to be the first person to call me that." Sarah paused. "You know, Francine and Gil think I should have a code name. Just so there isn't any confusion on operations. I also think Francine was being a little bit sentimental. She said, 'Scarecrow's daughter needs to have a code name, too.'"

Matt only needed a few moments to think of his response. "It has to be Sparrow."

Sarah's face lit up. "I like that."

"His eye has been upon you. No matter how badly things went..." Matt's voice trailed off. He did not want to dampen the mood.

Sensing Matt's discomfort, she answered quickly. "Yes. Do you have a code name?"

Matt looked sheepish. "Yes, but before I tell it to you, promise not to laugh, or think I'm an egotist."

Sarah tilted her head. "Of course not. You are hardly an egotist. Quite the opposite. What is it?"

"Eagle. Short for Eagle Eye. I know. It's kind of dumb."

"I like Eagle. How did you get it?"

"It's from Army Intelligence. A few of the guys started calling me that after they saw me practicing with my knife. I could never shake the nickname and my superiors picked it up so we could use it on ops. Your mom put the code name in my file when she started training me, but we've only used it a few times."

"Eagle and Sparrow." Sarah laughed a little. "I think that fits us. You're a lot tougher than me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit. You have a lot of strength, Sarah. It's one of the things I love about you."

Sarah smiled at Matt. "It is getting late. You need to get back to your desk."

Matt took Sarah's hand as they left the park.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

The sun was warm despite the crispness of the autumn day. Sarah threw the blanket up onto the rock before accepting a hand up from Matt. Soon after they spread the blanket and set out their lunch, he had shed his jacket. Since both were hungry, they ate quickly.

"It's such a beautiful day." Matt looked over at Sarah, who was just finishing the last of her apple. She threw the core in their trash bag and wiped the sticky residue from its juice on a napkin.

He held out an arm as an invitation to snuggle up against him on the blanket. As she sat down at his side, he turned to kiss her. "Mmm. Apple." He kissed her again.

When they pulled apart, Sarah laughed lightly. "Sticky apple."

Matt gestured to the opposite ridge. "That tree we marked back in September has already lost its leaves. But there are plenty of others with amazing colors. This is a spectacular view." The fall colors were only slightly past their peak. This was Matt's first fall on the east coast; he marveled at the intensity of the orange, red, and golden colors.

"Now you know another reason why I love it here." She leaned her head on Matt's shoulder and they sat there together for several minutes without speaking.

Finally Matt spoke. "I love it here, too, Sarah. It's just one of the many blessings I've experienced since God brought us together."

Matt shifted and stood up. "Would you stand with me?"

Sarah looked at him quizzically, but when he held out his hand, she let him help her to her feet.

Surprising her further, once she was on her feet, he lowered himself to one knee. Then realization dawned on her. Overcome with emotion, she had to force herself to focus on Matt's face and listen to his words.

"Sarah Stetson, I have been in love with you almost since the day I met you. I confess that at first it might have been a crush, but as I have gotten to know you, my love for you has only grown deeper. There are so many things that I admire and love about you, but for now I'll say that you are a sweet, intelligent, lovely, and brave woman, and I believe that God brought us together for a reason. I want to grow old with you—you're my best friend. And I would be honored if you would become my wife."

As Matt looked expectantly into her hazel eyes, Sarah felt them flood with tears. Without thinking she knelt down and threw her arms around Matt, burying her face against his chest.

Hugging her back, he spoke against her hair. "Shall I take that as a 'yes'?"

Sarah pulled away and looked Matt in the face again. "Oh." Sarah swallowed her tears and tried to steady her voice. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you, Matthew Granger. You are a sweet, gentle, courageous, and honorable man. And I think God has brought us together, too. You've just made me the happiest woman in the world."

The expression in Matt's eyes told Sarah that he was just as happy as she was. He grinned at her briefly before bringing his lips to hers in a light and gentle kiss. As they broke apart, he reached for her left hand, which had found its way to his chest. He looked down at it. "I'm sorry I don't have a ring for you just yet. But I have a picture of it."

Sarah watched as Matt pulled out his phone. "When my great grandmother Granger died, she passed on her engagement ring to my parents to keep for their eldest son to give to his fiancée. My mom was pregnant with me at the time, and they didn't even know if I was going to be a boy or a girl. My mom and I were worried that it was a little too old-fashioned, so she suggested a way to make it more modern. She wanted to have the stones reset when she took it to be sized for you anyway. So, if you like the design…"

Looking at the photos of the ring, then his mother's sketch, Sarah let out a gasp of admiration. "It's a lovely ring even without the alteration. But your mother's idea to move the stones to one side is very creative. I love it. I would be honored to wear such a beautiful piece."

Matt grinned at Sarah's reaction. "I talked with the jeweler myself, and he assured me that the ring would be ready before Thanksgiving, so I can give it to you then. He will get started on it this coming week."

"Your mom is very sweet. I can't wait to meet her."

"Would you mind if we called them right now?" Matt grew a little bashful. "To be honest, I told both your parents and mine that I would be asking you today. I think they are all waiting to hear what happened—your parents want to see us when we get back this evening. Your dad said something about an old bottle of Dom Perignon."

Later, Sarah lay stretched out on her back on the blanket, her head on Matt's jacket. He lay companionably next to her, his head also on the jacket, as they watched the clouds. Sarah's voice broke the silence. "Your parents are always so nice. But I'm not surprised."

"They can't wait to meet you."

"I feel the same way."

Matt turned towards Sarah and propped his head on his hand. Wisps of hair that had strayed from her braid framed her face. He caressed her cheek and hair with his free hand. "Your eyes are shining."

"Because I'm so happy."

Matt leaned over Sarah. As he did so, he brought his lips to hers and she wrapped her arms about his neck. Their legs tangled intimately as Matt trailed kisses along her jaw and down her throat.

Sarah had felt the same warmth a few times before when they had kissed—a sort of thrill and tingle that started deep inside of her—but this time it was more stirring, even more so than the time on her couch after Matt had returned from Kazakhstan. She found herself moaning softly in the back of her throat as Matt's lips moved back to her mouth while his hand wandered inside her jacket, eventually resting on her hip. Her own hands began to move over his shoulders and chest. She had never kissed anyone like this before. Indeed, she had never felt that sensation with anyone else before. It was almost overpowering, and it began to scare her a little. She pulled away as if to catch her breath, but it was also to clear her mind.

Matt's voice was husky as he spoke. "Your father gave me a key to the cabin." He looked in her eyes. "He said we should feel free to use it."

"Is that what you want?" Sarah had just promised to marry this man, the one whom she loved more than anyone else—the man who loved her just as dearly. Yes, they had planned to wait until marriage, but they had been through so much together. Perhaps she could offer him this gift…

"If you are asking me that question, maybe this isn't the right time…" Matt's grey eyes had grown dark with intensity, but his voice was gentle. _Granger, you're breaking a promise you made to her and to yourself—and to God._

Sarah reached up to run her hand through Matt's hair. He closed his eyes, enjoying her touch and waiting quietly for her answer. _But we've been through so much together…_

"Matt, I have to confess that while I was overwhelmed and oh, so very happy when you proposed, I wasn't too surprised."

Matt's eyes opened. He looked at her uncertainly.

"In fact, when Mom and I went shopping for the dress I wore to the opening, we looked at wedding gowns. I even tried one on and fell in love with it."

Chuckling, Matt could not hide his amusement. "Really?"

"Oh, please don't laugh at me. I know it was really presumptuous."

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm glad that you knew I cared that much for you. I just think you're cute."

"Well, my point is that we figured out I could order the dress and have it in about eight weeks." She searched Matt's face and let the information register before continuing. "If you don't think it would be too much of a rush, we could get married in two months. If you want to." Sarah's eyes wandered to a bird on the tree nearby. She could no longer look at him, fearing he would think she was being impetuous on one hand, and on the other hand, be upset that she was asking him to wait another two months to become intimate. After the kisses they had just shared, she knew it would be a struggle.

Matt thought he had never felt closer to Sarah than he did at that moment. She was willing to give herself to him, despite her desire to wait. She was leaving the decision to him. He needed to keep that promise he had made.

She felt his hand on her cheek. "Beloved, I would be a very happy man if I knew I would have you as my wife in just two months."

Sarah brought her eyes to his once again. His expression was earnest as he continued. "We have Thanksgiving, then it won't be long until Christmas—and you'll be starting at the Agency. It would only be a few weeks after that until we were married. That isn't a very long time—and we could take a honeymoon before your training class started. Imagine how hard it would be to be proper at my parents' house if we were already… My parents would not be as understanding as your parents."

"I was surprised my dad gave you the key to the cabin."

"I guess he's trying pretty hard to be cool about his little girl getting married. Although I've assured him more than once that we haven't slept together yet, he seems to have adjusted to the idea that at some point we will be." Matt could not help smiling at the sound of those words. "Your mom said he's come a long way, I guess."

"You can say that again. But he still spies on us. Thankfully there are no cameras out here."

Matt kissed Sarah again, but this time it light and gentle, like their earlier kiss. "I can't tell you how much I've wanted to show my love to you in a physical way, but you are right. We've each waited, saving ourselves." Matt caressed her face. "I love you so much, Sarah. I will make love to you someday, but it will be on our wedding night. And we'll have no regrets afterwards."

Feeling the warmth of Matt's body so near, with his leg draped over hers and his arm embracing her, Sarah had no trouble imagining what it might be like when that time came. She smiled at him and once again ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and she reached up to kiss him on the lips. "Thank you, Matt. I love you, too. So very much. And we will have no regrets."


End file.
